Syria airstrikes kill 95 in ISIS stronghold, report says

By Laura Smith-Spark and Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN

November 26, 2014 -- Updated 0851 GMT (1651 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Airstrikes by Syrian government forces have killed 95 people, monitoring group says

The death toll is likely to rise since many people are critically injured, it says

The airstrikes targeted the northern city of Raqqa, a stronghold for ISIS militants

(CNN) -- At least 95 people have been killed and 120 injured in airstrikes by Syrian government forces on the northern city of Raqqa, a stronghold for the extremist group ISIS, a monitoring group said Wednesday.

The death toll from Tuesday's airstrikes is expected to rise because many people are critically injured, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Government warplanes carried out at least 10 airstrikes in Raqqa, targeting the city's al-Hani Mosque and the public souk, or market, the Observatory said. Its reports are based on information from a network of activists and residents on the ground in Syria.

Syria's state TV and news agency SANA have not reported on military operations targeting Raqqa.

The U.S.-led coalition against ISIS has also carried out airstrikes in the area since the start of operations in September.

The extremists have made the city, which sits on the banks of the Euphrates River, the de facto capital of their self-declared "Islamic State" that stretches across large areas of Syria and Iraq.

The city is known as a place where ISIS sites training centers, weapons depots and accommodation for fighters. During the Syrian conflict, the group has also seized military bases from the Syrian regime near the city and in the wider Raqqa province.