52 killed in US-led airstrikes in Syria

The toll in the US-led coalition airstrikes on a northern Syrian town has risen to at least 52, a monitoring group reported Saturday.

The airstrikes were carried out early Friday against the town of Beirmhali in the northwestern countryside of Aleppo province in northern Syria, Xnhua news agency reported citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

At least seven children and nine women were among the slain people, said the UK-based watchdog group. It added that aside from the 52 killed, at least 13 people were reported missing after the strikes, which could further raise the casualty count.

It said the latest killings add to the previous estimates, which indicated that 66 civilians were killed by the international coalition airstrikes against the positions of the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria since the coalition started its airstrikes in the war-torn country in September 2014.

The observatory said it condemned with the strongest words possible this "massacre" that targeted the northern Syrian town under the pretext of targeting the IS positions there.

It urged the coalition members to avert from hitting residential areas.