US Airstrikes Kill 28, Mostly Civilians, in Eastern Syria

Nine children reportedly slain in strikes targeting 'ISIS families'

Over the weekend, US airstrikes killed at least 41 civilians in the Eastern Syrian town of Hajin. On Tuesday, US strikes killed another 28 in the neighboring town of al-Shaafa, another of the towns under ISIS control.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the US attacks were targeting the family members of ISIS fighters. Of the 28 slain, at least 22 have already been identified as civilians, with six others yet to be identified. Nine children were among the slain.

As the Kurdish YPG tries to take these towns away from ISIS, they have carried out multiple offensives in the area. The US has tried to offer air support for the YPG, and as has so often been the case, this seems to be killing vastly more civilians than anything else.

Though the YPG had briefly had to back off the offensive against the ISIS towns, which are on the Iraqi border, to react to Turkish attacks further north, those attacks have quieted down, and the focus is back on ISIS. Even when YPG forces have been attacking, they’ve faced stiff resistance, as ISIS has ambushed them repeatedly.

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.