A ceasefire in Syria is underway, but frail. The calm in Syria was broken Sunday when six villages were hit by air strikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based human rights organization. The identity of the jets was not known. It was unclear if the raids hit areas covered by the truce. Militants from the Islamic State and al-Qaida-linked forces in Syria are not part of the ceasefire. Russia blamed Turkey for nine violations, according to the French news agency AFP. The Syrian state media claimed “terrorist groups” fired mortars close to the Turkish border. A senior Saudi Arabian official alleged Syrian and Russian forces have committed violations in Syria. The United States and its partners targeted the Islamic State terror group Saturday and Sunday. U.S. President Barack Obama said the Islamic State’s territory in Syria is shrinking. He said the number of Islamic State fighters in the field is decreasing. The reduced numbers, the president said, are because the jihadists are having problems recruiting to refill the fighting ranks. The temporary truce went into effect Friday. Members of the United Nations Security council endorsed the deal. One United Nations diplomat called the weekend ceasefire “reassuring.” I’m Jonathan Evans. The staff at VOA News wrote this story for VOANews.com. Jim Dresbach adapted this story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story underway – adv. happening now frail – adj. - easily damaged or destroyed mortar – n. a military weapon used to fire shells high into the air at a low speed alleged – adj. accused of having done something wrong or illegal but not yet proven guilty air strike – n. an attack in which military airplanes drop bombs jets – n. a fast airplane that has one or more jet engines recruit – v. to find suitable people and get them to join a company, an organization or the armed forces endorse – v. to publicly or officially say that you support or approve of something reassuring – adj. making someone feel less afraid, upset or doubtful
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