Early reports have the US attacking civilians..MEE
At least 22 people were killed late on Monday in strikes by unidentified aircraft on a Syrian government-held neighbourhood in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, a monitor said.A local official, and Syrian state television, accused the US-led coalition of carrying out the strikes, and gave a lower death toll of 14, with 30 injured.
IS holds part of the city, but the deaths came in a neighbourhood under government control and appeared to be the possible result of a mistake, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The war monitor said the 22 civilians were killed in the Al-Qusur neighbourhood, in the west of the city, which is provincial capital of oil rich province
"Fourteen civilians were killed and more than 30 others injured in air strikes by coalition planes on the Al-Qusur neighbourhood in Deir Ezzor city," the source said, adding that the toll could rise because a number of the injured were in serious condition.Syrian state television, citing its reporter, also accused the coalition of the strikes.There was no immediate response from the coalition to questions on the deaths, which were reported late on Monday night.
I had noticed earlier today there were reports of Syria evacuating civilians.. Most probably because they had some inkling of what the US might engage in. The destruction of Raqqa speaks loudly for itself..Reuters-
An air raid in the government-held Qusur district of Deir al-Zor city in eastern Syria killed more than a dozen people, Syrian state television and a war monitor said on Monday.
State television said jets from a U.S.-led international coalition battling Islamic State carried out the air strike and that it killed 14 civilians and wounded 32 others.
Coalition spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon said by phone that he would check the reports, but that there was no reason for coalition jets to strike targets in Deir al-Zor city because the SDF was not fighting there.
Readers here may recall that Colonel Ryan Dillon lies?Included in the post: After Raqqa, The US sees Russia, Assad Looming Over the Battlefield
Dillon: “We’re not in a race, we’re not in the land-grab business. We’re here to defeat ISIS,” he said, using an acronym for the Islamic State"
It makes sense to me the US would target civilians. I've been talking over several posts about the real possibility of envelope pushing /razors edge type stuff in Deir ez ZorAnd isn't it amazing how cooperative ISIS always is with the Kurds and vice versa??.... Yet when it comes to Christians? Both Kurds and ISIS are brutal to the extreme. Must be one of those coincidences? Coincidentally, Israel has a real beef with Christians too?I'll update when possible ISIS left trail of blood in Syria town
The Islamic State militants came into the Syrian town with a hit list. By the time they left three weeks later, more than 100 civilians had been killed - shot or beheaded, their bodies dumped in farms and ditches.
News of the gruesome slayings began to emerge late Sunday, after IS militants were driven out by advancing government troops.
Terrified residents said they watched the slaughter from their windows or in the streets.
"They came into town with a hit list," said Abdullah AbdulKarim, adding that 35 of the 50 militants who overran the town late last month were originally from Qaryatayn. He said the militants accused many of their victims of collaborating with the government but many others were also caught in the revenge killing.
Once a predominantly Christian town known for its ancient monastery......
There's been a real push on to clear the middle east of Christians these last several yearsFrom earlier today: