Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-24 05:40:32|Editor: Lu Hui

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DAMASCUS, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- A total of 11 civilians, including five children and three women, were killed Friday by renewed U.S.-led airstrikes on Islamic State (IS)-held area in eastern Syria, a war monitor reported.

The airstrikes targeted the town of Shufeh in the last IS-held pocket in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based watchdog group said the death toll could likely rise as many of the wounded are in critical conditions.

This comes as the IS carried out an attack Friday morning in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour near a base run by the U.S.-led coalition and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia.

The IS succeeded to advance in three positions of the SDF on the eastern bank of Euphrates River in eastern Deir al-Zour, said the report.

It added that 12 IS militants were killed Friday, increasing thus the death toll of the IS militants over the past 72 hours to 60 militants.

The Observatory said 685 IS militants had been killed since the U.S.-led SDF launched their offensive on the last IS-held pocket in September.

The IS attack on Friday came a day after the terror-labeled group launched a pre-emptive attack as the SDF was planning to launch a second wave of attacks after a failed attempt in September.