Dozen Civilians Killed in US Raid in Northwest Syria

By Staff, Agencies

The US has conducted a counterterrorism operation in northern Syria, according to a statement from the released by the Pentagon early Thursday.

"US Special Operations forces under the control of US Central Command conducted a ‘counterterrorism’ mission this evening in northwest Syria," the statement read. "The mission was successful. There were no US casualties."

The attack took place in Idlib Governate in northwest Syria, near the border with Turkey. This is the same province the United States conducted the strike that killed Wahhabi Daesh [Arabic acronym for “ISIS” / “ISIL”] leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that at least nine civilians were killed in the raid.

Citing local sources, the Doha-based Al Jazeera broadcaster said on Thursday that at least 13 people, including six children and four women, were killed in the US attack in Idlib, the last militant-held stronghold after almost 11 years of foreign-backed war on Syria.

Media outlet cited a US official, who discussed the details of the military operation on condition of anonymity, as saying that there was at least one major explosion. The source added that one of the helicopters involved in the raid suffered a mechanical malfunction and had to be blown up on the ground.

The reports about casualties come shortly after Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed that US Special Operations units had conducted what he described as a "successful" counterterrorism mission in Syria.

"US Special Operations forces under the control of US Central Command conducted a counterterrorism mission this evening in northwest Syria. The mission was successful. There were no US casualties. More information will be provided as it becomes available," Kirby said in a statement on Thursday.

The Pentagon did not clarify who the target was, or if any terrorists or civilians were killed or injured.