US Airstrike Kills 26 Syrian Civilians, Says Monitor

By teleSUR

08 December 15

At least seven children and four women were killed in the attack, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

suspected U.S.-coalition airstrike killed a reported 26 Syrian civilians in the north eastern village of Al-Khan, the British based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Monday.

At least seven children and four women were killed in the attack. No Islamic State group militants were reported killed or injured.

According to SOHR founder Rami Abdel Rahman, Islamic State group militants only control the outskirts of Al-Khan while the attack hit the central areas of the village.

A U.S. central command spokesperson is investigating the allegations. “We take all such allegations seriously and conduct credibility assessments of all information we receive regarding civilian casualties. If the information is deemed credible we will investigate and publicly release the results of the investigation,” the spokesperson said.

The news comes within 24 hours of a U.S.-coalition airstrike allegedly hitting a Syrian Arab Army military compound in Dier Ez Zor, killing at least three soldiers and injuring a reported 16 others.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry reacted with condemnation to the attack, branding it “an act of aggression” that “contradicts the U.N. Charter on goals and principles.” Damascus has issued official complaints to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the U.N. Security Council, the foreign ministry confirmed.

However, the Pentagon responded to the allegations by blaming Russia, saying it is “certain” that a Russian plane conducted the airstrike.

U.S.-coalition airstrikes in Syria have come under increasing scrutiny over recent weeks. In late November, a report by the Middle East Eye revealed that U.S. officials attempted to cover up the killing of six children in the Syrian-Turkish border town of Atmeh.

The SOHR also announced that it had documented the killing of at least 250 civilians at the hands of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes between September 2014 and November 23, 2015. The figures contradict U.S. government sources, which have documented just one incident in which civilians were killed.