- At least 16 people were killed on Monday when airstrikes targeted a marketplace in the country's eastern province of Deir al-Zour, a monitor group reported.

The airstrikes targeted a marketplace in al-Shara, a town in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Right.

It said the bazaar is one of the busiest markets in that area, and that the death toll could likely rise due to the number of critically wounded people.

The London-based Observatory stopped short of identifying the warplanes that had carried out the strikes.

Meanwhile, the opposition group, Qasioun, alleged that the airstrikes were carried out by Russian warplanes on the Islamic State (IS)-held town. It put the death toll at 23.

Much of Deir al-Zour, an oil-rich province bordering Iraq, fell to the IS group, except the city center and some areas in the countryside, which remained under government control.

source : xinhua