The Latest: Syria says US airstrike kills 14 civilians

BEIRUT – The Latest on developments in Syria (all times local):

11:40 p.m.

Syria's state TV says warplanes from the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group have bombed a government-controlled neighborhood in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour killing 14 civilians.

U.S. military spokesman Col. Ryan Dillon denied the report in a tweet saying that the coalition has not bombed the city, of which IS currently controls a small part, since September.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a Monday night airstrike killed 22, adding that the identity of the warplanes was not immediately clear.

Syrian troops have been marching against IS in eastern Syria under the cover of Russian airstrikes.

Last year, the U.S.-led coalition bombed Syrian army positions near the city of Deir el-Zour killing at least 62 Syrian soldiers and leaving more than a 100 wounded.

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10:45 a.m.

Russia's defense minister says less than five percent of Syria remains under control of the Islamic State group.

At the height of the rise of the IS the militants controlled about half of the territory of Syria before their downfall began.

Speaking at a conference in the Philippines, Sergei Shoigu said on Monday that "terrorists" controlled more than 70 percent of the country before Russia launched its air operation at the end of 2015 to support President Bashar Assad's offensive against IS militants and opposition forces.

Russian airstrikes destroyed more than 900 training camps and a multitude of heavy weaponry.

In recent weeks Russia focused efforts on the east of the country where a race is underway between U.S.-backed Syrian forces and government troops in the oil-rich Deir el-Zour province.