It is not known if those 13 are civilians or members of Isis, which has been fending off ground and air attacks for more than two months from the United States and its Syrian allies.
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At least 15 civilians were killed and many wounded in fresh air strikes by US-led coalition in Syria on Thursday morning.
The strikes came a day after the coalition opened a formal investigation to determine whether its air strikes last week near Manbij claimed civilian lives.
Woods is encouraged that the Pentagon has quickly acknowledged the reports of the deaths, but says it’s often six-months before a military probe is completed.
The city of Manbij is now besieged by Kurdish and Arab opposition fighters trying to dislodge militants loyal to the self-styled Islamic State.
The United States is examining an vast collection of digital documents and other data captured from the Islamic State by US -backed Syrian rebels fighting to retake the strategic city of Manbij, a military official said Wednesday.
On Thursday night, US Central Command (CENTCOM) acknowledged that the airstrikes “may have resulted in civilian casualties”, but did not name a figure, pending a likely future investigation.
Information gleaned from social media, journalism and other public sources will inform the inquiry, Col Garver said, as will proprietary U.S. military information, such as geospatially located ordnance impacts.
– On April 5, 2016, in Mosul, Iraq, during a strike on an ISIL financial storage facility, it is assessed that three civilians were killed.
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.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter had said last week that the Defense Department would probe the reports of civilian casualties.
A death toll of that magnitude would appear to be the worst in almost two years of coalition air strikes against ISIS targets.
Overall Russian and regime air attacks have killed many more civilians than the coalition and they have also been accused of intentionally targeting homes and key infrastructure such as hospitals.
Daesh has executed at least 24 civilians after seizing a village in northern Syria from a US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance, a monitor said on Friday.
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The ministry also cited remarkable similarities between the “massacres” perpetrated by the US-led coalition and the terror groups operating in Syria, saying both sides are trying to exacerbate the situation across the country following the Syrian army’s recent victories in Aleppo city.
