At least 34 civilians, including nine children, have been killed in a Russian air raid on Euphrates River ferries near

Syria's Deir Az Zor city, according to a monitoring group.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the air strikes on Sunday targeted "more than 40 ferries" that left al-Boulil town southwest of Deir Az Zor for the eastern shore of the Euphrates.

No immediate response from Russian authorities was available.

Deir Az Zor province borders Iraq and is a strategic prize for both SDF and the Syrian regime army.

PHOTO CAPTION

Map of Syria locating Deir Az Zor

Al-Jazeera