US-led raid in Syria targets militant, many civilian casualties: Residents

_{A US-led coalition raid on Thursday targeted a suspected Al Qaeda-affiliated militant}

A US-led coalition raid on Thursday targeted a suspected Al Qaeda-affiliated militant in the northern Syrian town of Atmeh, resulting in several civilian casualties, said residents and sources with the rebels fighting against the Syrian government.
One resident said at least 12 people were killed in the raid that took place around midnight in a densely populated area near the border with Turkey, where tens of thousands of displaced Syrians live in makeshift camps or overcrowded housing.

There was no immediate reports of any militant being killed, but residents said they heard heavy gunfire during the operation, indicating resistance to the raid.

The US State Department and the spokesperson for the coalition forces in northern Syria did not respond to requests for comment.

Charles Lister, senior fellow with the Washington-based Middle East Institute, said he had spoken to residents who said the operation lasted more than two hours.

“Clearly they wanted whoever it was alive,” Lister said.

“This looks like the biggest of this type of operation” since the Baghdadi raid, he said.