US concludes airstrike in Syria killed 2 innocent children

[webfact]

US concludes airstrike in Syria killed 2 innocent children
LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two children were likely killed during an American airstrike targeting al-Qaida-linked militants in Syria last year, and two other adults were wounded, according to an investigation released Thursday by the U.S. military.

The 76-page report concludes that the strikes were designed to destroy Khorasan Group extremists, bomb-making experts, meeting places and facilities where explosives were made and stored. The investigation found that the killed and wounded civilians probably lived near one of the targeted locations.

This is the first of four ongoing U.S. military investigations into allegations of civilian casualties resulting from airstrikes against Islamic State militants and other extremists in Iraq and Syria that began last August. One other probe into an airstrike in Syria and two investigations into airstrikes in Iraq are still pending.

According to the report, the strikes on November 4-5, near Harim City, hit their intended targets, but officials said they could not determine if the civilians were killed by those strikes or secondary explosions caused by the bombings.

"From the investigation it can be determined that sound procedures were followed and must be followed in the future," Lt. Gen. James Terry, commander of the military operations against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, wrote in a handwritten note on the report. Terry ordered and approved the investigation.

The report added, "Reasonable measures were undertaken to avoid the death or injury of civilians during the strike." It said that, "nonetheless, the death of any civilians is regrettable," and that the military will continue to try to mitigate civilian casualties "to the maximum extent possible."

Human rights groups have estimated that far more civilians have been killed in U.S. and coalition airstrikes since operations began.

The airstrikes against the Khorasan Group that day marked only the second time, since the bombing campaign in Syria began, that U.S. operations had targeted the group, which officials contend is a Nusra Front cell that has been plotting to attack American and Western interests.

According to the report, the airstrikes launched by multiple aircraft destroyed six buildings and damaged two others at two separate compounds. It said initially the compounds were civilian facilities on a "no strike" list, but intelligence assessments concluded they were later converted to military use by the Khorasan Group.

The "protected status" of the compounds was lifted, the report said, "after determination that their predominant use was for hostile purposes — a meeting place and safe-house for foreign extremists." It said "multiple intelligence reports" concluded the facilities were used by known members of the Khorasan Group.

It said the intelligence assessments indicated the sites were used for meetings and storage and specific bomb-makers and explosives experts — whose names were redacted — met there.

The investigation notes that other independent or media reports after the bombings suggested that one of the children killed was the daughter of a Nusra Front fighter.

The probe was prompted by numerous reports, photos and video claiming to show a varying number of civilian casualties resulting from the strikes The report said photos showed the bodies of two female children "that were dusty, and which appeared to have sustained injuries to their ear drums, consistent with having been in close proximity to blast overpressure injuries."

The investigation said there had been no indications prior to the strikes that children were present.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-05-22

[ggold]

The silence is deafening

[EnglishJohn]

What is there to say ?. It's tragic these children got killed : nobody denies it.

Children similar to those in much larger numbers have had their heads cut off in the street along with thousands of others who have to wait in terror for some devil to commit this barbarous act in full public view.

Would you rather we did nothing and hope they decide to stop ?.

The thing which disgusts me most is that this unintentional killing makes headline news while the slaughter of civilians by ISIS (still going on) goes pretty much unreported.

[ggt]

OMG...airstrikes may have killed two INNOCENT children and may have wounded two other people during airstrikes LAST YEAR!

Meanwhile...Islamic terrorist have killed and are still killing tens of thousands of INNOCENT men, women and YES children...

'

What is wrong with this picture...placing emphasis on US bombings instead of the indiscriminate slaughter of thousands of innocent people?

Get real people...

[harryfrompattaya]

It sad the best thing America can do around the world is go home and let the cards play out at least we will not be called to be blame and it will save America lives and money. In other words let the rest of the World go to Hell

[cookee68]

It is sad, but you cant swim in water and not get wet, and compare it to the kids ISIS has killed and rapped, what else can you say

[Chicog]

Before anyone starts moaning about it, can we please wait for the IS and Al Qaeda reports?

Edited May 22, 2015 by Chicog

[NeverSure]

This looms as perhaps the single largest reason that the terrorists can't be defeated. If an innocent is killed the whole world falls apart. The terrorists are specialists at hiding among civilians, dressed like civilians daring anyone to come and get them.

All of these civilians could rise up and take out the terrorists because they outnumber them massively and know who they are, but they won't. They either don't care, don't have any guts or worse, they approve of them.

The last war the US and allies won outright was WWII. It was won because no pilot was afraid to bomb whole cities at night with what today is primitive navigation equipment. Sometimes they missed the whole city. But they weren't afraid of being dragged up before some international body to face charges of war crimes.

War is hell. If you want to win one you have to blow some stuff up. Today we have one hand tied behind our backs. End of.

[ggold]

What is there to say ?. It's tragic these children got killed : nobody denies it.

Children similar to those in much larger numbers have had their heads cut off in the street along with thousands of others who have to wait in terror for some devil to commit this barbarous act in full public view.

Would you rather we did nothing and hope they decide to stop ?.

The thing which disgusts me most is that this unintentional killing makes headline news while the slaughter of civilians by ISIS (still going on) goes pretty much unreported.

The point I was trying to make was that if this news had been about another country, then we would have had all the haters come forward with their vitriol of genocide and ethinic cleansing!

[Chicog]

What is there to say ?. It's tragic these children got killed : nobody denies it.

Children similar to those in much larger numbers have had their heads cut off in the street along with thousands of others who have to wait in terror for some devil to commit this barbarous act in full public view.

Would you rather we did nothing and hope they decide to stop ?.

The thing which disgusts me most is that this unintentional killing makes headline news while the slaughter of civilians by ISIS (still going on) goes pretty much unreported.

The point I was trying to make was that if this news had been about another country, then we would have had all the haters come forward with their vitriol of genocide and ethinic cleansing!

Perhaps you were a bit too vague.

[EnglishJohn]

What is there to say ?. It's tragic these children got killed : nobody denies it.

Children similar to those in much larger numbers have had their heads cut off in the street along with thousands of others who have to wait in terror for some devil to commit this barbarous act in full public view.

Would you rather we did nothing and hope they decide to stop ?.

The thing which disgusts me most is that this unintentional killing makes headline news while the slaughter of civilians by ISIS (still going on) goes pretty much unreported.

The point I was trying to make was that if this news had been about another country, then we would have had all the haters come forward with their vitriol of genocide and ethinic cleansing!

Yes, a bit too vague for the likes of me :-).

I didn't aim my response at you specifically : This whole situation makes my blood boil because of the sheer unjust nature of the media.

I wonder how many troops defending the freedom of someone else's country have been killed because if they kill the enemy and can't prove he was going to kill them, they get charged with murder. Yet ISIS can take room full of teenagers whose only crime was watching a football match on TV into a public square and shoot them dead and nothing gets reported in the Western media.

Johnny Cash caught the sentiment perfectly in 'When the man comes around". Something is going to give before too long.

[Steely Dan]

I think one of these should be dispatched forthwith.

http://www.theonion.com/article/us-dispatches-condolence-drones-middle-east-follow-50478?utm_campaign=default&utm_medium=ShareTools&utm_source=facebook

Edited May 24, 2015 by Steely Dan

[arjunadawn]

The other story within this piece is the implied identification of "Khorasan Group" aka "Emmanuel Goldstein" as something different than the general threats on the ground.

This is the quasi name given to a fictitious element of the very bad DAESH, suggesting some within are very, very bad...

and thus deserve special attention. The contempt for our intellect is stunning.

BS!

Every one knows Khorasan Group is a PR fiction. Its simply describes shades of black.

An imbecile could create a better fiction but only morons buy this crap. This is simply

more operational management of the whole IS affair, nothing more.