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mistake? US-led jets bomb grain silos in Syria, 'civilians killed'
RT,
29
September, 2014
US-led
coalition airstrikes destroyed grain silos and other targets in parts
of northern and eastern Syria dominated by Islamic State, killing
civilians while only wounding ISIS fighters, according to an
organization monitoring war in Syria.
The
overnight bombings hit mills and grain storage facilities in Manbij,
a militant-held town in northern Syria. Coalition forces possibly
mistook the structures for Islamic State holdings, said the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights on Monday.
The
US military responded to the claims later Monday morning, according
to Reuters, saying that Islamic State vehicles were adjacent to the
grain storage facility, and that there is no evidence of civilian
casualties.
The
United States and Arab allies have conducted airstrikes against
Islamic State and other jihadist
groups in Syria since last week, and in Iraq since last month. The
stated goal of the coalition’s bombing campaign is to cripple
Islamic State operations, including bases, combat forces, and supply
lines. Islamic State, an Al-Qaeda splinter group that reportedly has
as many as 30,000 fighters in the region, has come to control large
areas of Syria and northern Iraq since the beginning of the Syrian
civil war in 2011. The group is also known as ISIS or ISIL.
The
destruction of grain silos in Manbij only killed civilians, said Rami
Abdulrahman, the head of the Observatory, which claims to have a
network of sources throughout Syria.
"These
were the workers at the silos. They provide food for the people," he
said Monday. Abdulrahman could not offer an exact casualty count.
The airstrikes "destroyed the food that was stored there,” he added, according to AP. Neither Reuters nor AP could immediately verify his claims. The Britain-based Observatory was founded in 2006 and is chiefly opposed to President Bashar Assad’s government in Syria.
Manbij
is between the divided city of Aleppo to the west and the northern
border town of Kobani, near Turkey, which is controlled by Syrian
Kurdish forces.
In the pursuit of Kobani, Islamic State offensives have forced tens
of thousands of Kurds to seek refuge elsewhere.
The
Syrian army - which is not officially allied with the US-led
coalition but is aided by any aggression against mutual foes Islamic
State - also conducted air raids in Aleppo province Sunday night,
hitting spots east of Aleppo city with barrel bombs and other
ordnance, the Observatory said. Syrian forces also targeted the
western city of Hama.
The
US-led bombing campaign also hit an Islamic State controlled gas
plant in the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zor, wounding many of the
group’s members, according to the Observatory. The airstrikes
targeted Kuniko gas plant that feeds a power station in Homs that
supplies electricity to several provinces and powers oil field
generators, the Observatory said.
The
United States and allies have said revenue-generating oil facilities
held by Islamic State are a priority in the bombing campaign.
The
US and coalition forces also bombed areas of Hasaka city in the
northeast, as well as areas outside of the northern city of Raqqa, a
main territorial stronghold for Islamic State.
The
coalition against Islamic State includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the
United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Jordan. Many European countries also
are involved with efforts to strike Islamic State group in Iraq,
including France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and Britain.
If
the Observatory’s sources are correct about civilian casualties in
Manbij, that would add to the 19 civilians the Observatory has
reported have been killed by coalition bombings, according to AP.
Human
Rights Watch said Sunday that it confirmed with local residents the
deaths of at least seven civilians - two women and five children -
from a US missile strike on September 23 in the town of Kafr Derian,
of Idlib province. The group said two men were also killed in the
strike, but that they many have been extremist fighters.
"The
United States and its allies in Syria should be taking all feasible
precautions to avoid harming civilians," said
Nadim Houry, the deputy Middle East director for Human Rights Watch.
"The
US government should investigate possible unlawful strikes that
killed civilians, publicly report on them, and commit to appropriate
redress measures in case of wrongdoing."
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