The US military has acknowledged for the first time of having caused civilian casualties in bombing in Iraq and Syria. In a report acknowledging that strikes conducted in November 2014 near Harem Khorasan against the extremist group had killed two children. This is the first report – three are still in progress – led by the army on collateral victims alleged US military strikes against jihadist groups .
“We regret this unintentional deaths ,” said in a statement the US General James Terry , head of the CJTF ( Combined Joint Task Force – ” combined joint task force ” in French ) , the military command that directs strikes the coalition. The US military investigation concluded that ” air strikes against facilities used by Khorasan group near the town of Harem [ had] probably caused the death of two non-combatants .”
“Rigorous evaluation”
The strikes of 5 to 6 November in Khorasan had killed the French David Daoud Drugeon, an explosives expert in the group that was planning attacks in the West.
Before the strike, US military had “conducted a rigorous evaluation” of covered buildings, and concluded that the group was using Khorassan “only for military purposes,” it is explained in the statement. In this assessment, “there was no indication that there were children in the buildings.”
US military had never acknowledged civilian casualties in the ongoing bombings in Iraq and Syria.
The bombing also caused “minor injuries” to two “non-combatants adults” living nearby, the source said.