Syrian army stages airstrikes on IS-held town

Syrian activists say the Syrian army has carried out a wave of airstrikes in the northern city of Raqqa, the self-declared capital of the Islamic State group.

Two Syria-based groups as well as the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say warplanes carried out at least 12 airstrikes across the city Thursday. They report casualties but had no specific figures.

The airstrikes occur as the UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, is in Damascus. De Mistura meets with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, who tells him that fighting terrorism was the Syrian government’s priority.

Syrian President Bashar Assad says in an interview with Russian media aired Wednesday that there can be no political solution to the Syrian civil war before terrorism is defeated.

— AP