As many as 876 civilians have been killed by the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition strikes in Syria since September of 2014, a monitor group reported on Thursday.

The death toll includes 340 children and women, who were killed during the airstrikes of the U.S.-led coalition, which has started its bombardment to Islamic State (IS) positions in Syria in September 2014, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The airstrikes have been focused on the IS-held areas in northern Syria and Syrian-Iraqi borders, as well as areas under the control of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.

In a separate death toll, the Observatory said the coalition strikes have killed 5,766 IS militants, most of who were foreigners, as well as 141 fighters with the Nusra Front.

The efforts of the U.S.-led coalition have been largely played down by the government of President Bashar al-Assad, as government officials repeatedly charged that the coalition strikes didn't quell the expansion of the IS terrorists.

On the other hands, the Syrian government hailed the Russian intervention in Syria, which started in late 2015, saying the IS expansion has been severed by the Russian strikes, which were effective in enabling the Syrian army to recapture key areas in Syria, mainly the northern city of Aleppo.

Source: Xinhua