“We know what our rounds hit, we know what we’re shooting”, Col Garver said, adding that the U.S. also knows promptly if a bomb or missile’s targeting array has malfunctioned.
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“The clock is ticking for the Aleppo population”, he said.
The Pentagon has acknowledged killing 55 civilians in its almost two-year bombing campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
Save the Children says the maternity hospital is the only such facility in the area, with the next facility some 70 kilometers (44 miles) away.
The United States military has started a formal investigation into what officials are calling credible claims of civilian casualties from a USA -led coalition airstrike in Manbij, Syria.
“We can confirm the Coalition conducted airstrikes in the area in the last 24 hours”, it stated.
He spoke to reporters Wednesday at the Pentagon in a telephone interview from Baghdad.
Al-Mayadeen TV said the airstrike is the third to hit civilians in Manbej since the SDF and the USA started operations against IS there in May.
The airstrikes started around 3 a.m. and targeted the al-Tukhar village near Manbij, which is roughly a mile from an ISIS-held frontline position, according to Munther Salal, who handles public relations for the city council office in Manbij.
“Levels of civilian killings from the coalition are so high now, we are edging towards the 1,000 figure, and they don’t disclose it, they are covering it up”, Neil Sammonds said, adding that there had probably been more than 200 civilians killed during the fight for Manbij alone.
The village is located some 10km north-west of Manbij, a key waypoint between the Turkish border and the IS de facto capital of Raqa city.
The U.S. Central Command said in a statement that it initiated an assessment after reports that Thursday’s airstrikes near Manbij may have resulted in civilian casualties.
Members of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) attend the funeral of eight fellow fighters who died during an assault against ISIS in the town of Manbij, in the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane on June 24. The death toll is expected to increase further because of a lack of appropriate healthcare services in the region.
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A US special forces raid previous year in Syria against a senior Islamic State leader, Abu Sayyaf, produced 7 terabytes of data, USA officials said, revealing information about the group’s leadership, financing, and security.
