US Investigating Claims It Killed Dozens More Syrian Civilians

The Unites States Central Command, or CENTCOM, on Thursday said that it was investigating an airstrike near the Syrian city of Manbij that “may have resulted in civilian casualties,” with observers saying more than two dozen people may have died.

RELATED:
Syrian Government Welcomes US-Russia Plan to Bomb Syria

In a statement, the U.S. military confirmed that the airstrikes were carried out by the coalition in the area in the last 24 hours and said it would continue the investigation and then decide the next step.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that an airstrike 14 miles from Manbij had killed 28 people, with the death toll expected to rise. Women and children were understood to be casualties.

SOHR also said that it had obtained information that 13 others were killed, but it was not certain if they were civilians or members of the Islamic State group. The U.S. is backing with weapons and airstrikes a coalition of local militias that are seeking to retake Manbij the area from the extremist organization.

“We take all measures during the targeting process to avoid or minimize civilian casualties or collateral damage and to comply with the principles of the Law of Armed Conflict,” said CENTCOM.

But despite the rhetoric, July has been one of the deadliest months for civilians in areas of Syria being bombed by the U.S.-led coalition.

The U.S. started bombing Syria in Sept. 2014 and soon after began providing air support for the Kurdish YPG. According to Airwars, an independent monitoring organization, U.S. and Russian airstrikes have likely killed hundreds of civilians. Airwars estimates that civilians deaths in Syria are under-reported by as much as 95 percent by the U.S.

On Wednesday, the U.S. opened up a formal investigations into what is regarded as the single largest airstrike on civilians of the conflict and whether coalition warplanes were to blame.

RELATED:
Suicide Attackers Kill at Least a Dozen in Capital of Somalia

SOHR estimates that the July 19 strike, which also took place in the Islamic State-occupied city of Manbij, killed at least 56 civilians, with some saying the number could be four times that. SOHR at the time said that coalition warplanes could have mistaken Syrian civilians for Islamic State group fighters.

Intense fighting has taken place around Manbij recently. SOHR early Fridy morning reported that at least 24 civilians were exectuted by the Islamic State group in the town of Buyir after the extremists took back the town from U.S.-backed forces.

Syrian opposition groups have been calling for an end to U.S. lead airstrikes, saying that they will “prove to be a recruitment tool for terrorist organizations.”