Monitoring Group: 521 Islamic Militants, 32 Civilians Killed in U.S.-Led Airstrikes in Syria

A monitoring group tracking violence in Syria says U.S.-led airstrikes have killed 521 militants and 32 civilians since the airstrikes began a month ago.

The United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said this week that of the 521 Islamic militants killed, 464 were from the Islamic State terror group, while another 57 were from the al-Nusra Front, another terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaeda.

The monitoring group also reported that of the 32 civilians killed in the past month, six were women and five were children.

According to Reuters, the U.S. has been made aware of the civilian deaths that have taken place as a result of U.S.-led airstrikes. U.S. Central Command spokesman Colonel Patrick Ryder said last week that the U.S. takes "reports of civilian casualties or damage to civilian facilities seriously and we have a process to investigate each allegation."

Responding to earlier claims regarding the deaths of Syrian civilians, U.S. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that while civilian deaths are unlikely, they are not impossible.

"Our allies in the region are performing just as well as we are on the issue of precision and reducing the possibility of collateral damage," Dempsey said. "Of course you can't reduce it to zero."

According to ABC News, the U.S. announced this week that it has conducted 135 airstrikes in the past month in or around the border city of Kobani, where much of the fighting between Syrian forces and Islamic State rebels has taken place.

"Combined with continued resistance to ISIL on the ground, indications are that these strikes have slowed ISIL advances into the city, killed hundreds of their fighters and destroyed or damaged scores of pieces of ISIL combat equipment and fighting positions," Central Command said in a statement.