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50- REBELS KILLED BY U.S.-LED AIRSTRIKE IN SYRIA’S IDLIB

DAMASCUS, Aug. 1 . At least 50 rebels, mainly commanders, were killed on Saturday by U.S.-led airstrikes that targeted a meeting of rebel commanders in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, a war monitor reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the meeting grouped commanders of the Hurras al-Deen and Ansar al-Tawhid groups, both allied with the al-Qaida.

It said the death toll exceeds 50, noting that more bodies are being discovered.
The Britain-based watchdog group said the U.S.-led coalition targeted the meeting with at least seven highly explosive missiles.

The U.S. Central Command confirmed that it had attacked leaders of al-Qaida in Idlib province, noting that the operation had targeted those “responsible for attacks threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians.”

The U.S. airstrike comes as a cease-fire was declared by the Syrian army on Friday and went into effect on Saturday.The new cease-fire aims at halting the fighting in Idlib between the Syrian army and the al-Qaida-linked groups