US denies civilian deaths in Syria raids
Pentagon officials deny civilian casualties as a result of US-led airstrikes in Syria, despite claims to the contrary by human rights activists on the ground.
Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said the examination of before and after images of targeted sites show no sign of civilian casualties, The Los Angeles Times reported.
“We took all available mitigating actions to reduce civilian casualties,” Warren said. “Right now we believe there were no civilian casualties.”
Human rights activists have estimated that up to 24 civilians have been killed in airstrikes.
Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby also said Thursday that civilian casualties were not a concern since the targeted areas were not “urban.”
“I mean this is a pretty remote area of the country, mostly just desert, it’s not urban and so we don’t believe that there’s much reason to be too concerned about any collateral damage to civilian property,” Kirby told reporters.
“We are aware of some reporting out there that there may have been civilian casualties, and we are taking a look at that,” he added.
The Pentagon said the US-led forces had dropped 200 bombs and 47 Tomahawk cruise missiles on ISIL targets in Deir al-Zour, al-Raqqa and al-Hassakeh provinces, as well as on oil fields controlled by the terrorist organization.
Along with ISIL, the airstrikes also targeted the al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front, which experts believe is closer to Syrian insurgents now being armed and trained by the United States.
Reports indicated that Kafar Daryan village in Idlib province was also hit along with al-Nusra bases in air raids which killed 12 people.
“It’s in the American’s interest to hide it,” said Fadel Abdul Ghany, head of the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. “The reality is there are civilians and there are fighters” among the dead.
The United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates started joint airstrikes against ISIL in Syria on September 23.
AN/HRJ