US government announced launching a fresh probe into the victims of deadly Baghouz strikes in Syria. New York Time report triggered the new investigations.
Two and a half years ago, US troops in Syria implemented a military operation which led to the death of dozens of civilians. Recent reports indicate that US Defense secretary has launched an investigation into the attacks.
The airstrike which claimed to be final blows over ISIS slayed many people among Syrian non-military people. The director of US Army Forces Command, will lead the investigation, according to Pentagon Press Secretary.
The American army conceded early in October that ordinary people have been the victim of Baghouz strikes. The Syrian Democratic Forces were spearheading the ground battle while receiving American air assistance.
The United States faces allegations regarding neglecting Civilian people in their military operations in Syria. “Likely a majority of those killed were also combatants at the time of the strike. However, it is also highly likely that there were additional civilian casualties,” An American military official acknowledged in a statement in mid-November.
Bill Urban further explained in the statement that the identity of more than 60 victims of Baghouz strikes is unclear. The remarks further put the nature of American operation in Syria under question. He made his remark through a statement a day after the New York Times released an article accusing the US military of hiding the strikes. The article utilized unnamed individuals and classified documents as the evidence.
New York Times article revealed that 64 civilians, including women and children, were among the victims of the deadly attack. The Times report also gives details about the Baghouz strikes with no prior notice to save the civilian lives. Launching new proves puts the credibility of all previous investigations at stake.
Baghouz Strikes; March 2019
“Without warning, an American F-15E attack jet streaked across the drone’s high-definition field of vision and dropped a 500-pound bomb on the crowd, swallowing it in a shuddering blast,” these lines by New York Times hit the headlines triggering a n new probe into Baghouz Strikes. ” As the smoke cleared, a few people stumbled away in search of cover. Then a jet tracking them dropped one 2,000-pound bomb, then another, killing most of the survivors.”
The United States, along with allies, launched a series of attacks in Syria and Iraq to contain the ISIS threat. This is while Washington withdrew troops a few years earlier following the downfall of former dictator Saddam Hussain. The American troops remain in both nations, seemingly with the aim of diminishing the chance for a rebirth of ISIS.
In his unsuccessful 2020 campaign, Biden’s predecessor highlighted the territorial loss of ISIS as a key policy accomplishment. Human rights organizations have repeatedly alleged the US and its western allies of attacking non-military regions. According to a study by Amnesty International, the US alliance massacred 1,600 people in Raqqa, the ISIS capital or headquarter.
An AP report revealed that Centcom head provided a classified report on Syria strikes for the Defense minister. General McKenzie’s report followed the release of New York Times controversial column. McKenzie justified the strikes as “legitimate self-defense in support of Syrian partner forces” who were under heavy strikes by ISIS forces.
McKenzie briefing indirectly confirmed the reports about the civilian casualties of the Baghouz Strikes, only to justify it through “defense” excuses. The investigation into the strikes follows the Pentagon’s Acknowledgment two months ago that an American drone strike regarded as “righteous” by a military commander killed more than 10 people, including children, in Kabul following Taliban takeover.
