US Airstrikes Kill at Least 41 Civilians in Eastern Syria

Attacks centered on ISIS-held town of Hajin

Aiming to support a struggling Kurdish invasion of the area, a flurry of US-led airstrikes against the ISIS-held town of Hajin, in eastern Syria, killed at least 41 civilians, including 17 children over the past several days.

The death toll was reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, who warned it was likely that the toll would further rise because of the number of wounded. The US has yet to comment on the attacks.

That’s become increasingly common. US officials have been less and less transparent about their overseas operations, and nowhere is this more glaring than in Syria. In recent months, despite very well established US strikes, the Pentagon has claimed virtually no casualties in Syria.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry responded to this most recent report by calling on the UN to start an independent international investigation into the US-led coalition’s airstrikes, saying the world needs to punish those responsible.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.