US Airstrikes Killed Over 100 Civilians in Eastern Syria This Week

At least 18 killed on Thursday, mostly children

Over the past week, daily US airstrikes against a handful of towns in eastern Syria have killed well over 100 civilians, mainly women and children. The towns are under ISIS control, and are near the Iraqi border.

The Kurdish YPG has been attacking the ISIS towns, with limited success, and the US has made much of its desire to provide air support. Most of the airstrikes are just hitting homes across the towns, killing a lot of women and children within.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has, in their reports, described many of the civilians as “ISIS family members,” though it’s not clear how either they or the US could identify which houses being bombed belong to whom.

The strikes slow no sign of slowing down. On Thursday, US strikes killed at least 18 civilians in the same towns. 13 of those slain were identified as children. The US has not commented on these strikes.

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.