The New York Times: 70 civilians were killed in a US air strike in Syria in 2019

The New York Times revealed that the US Air Force launched an air strike that killed about 70 civilians, women and children, during the war against ISIS in Syria.

In a report, the newspaper said that an American F-15E attack jet dropped a 500-pound bomb on the crowd huddled against a river bank, killing dozens. As survivors tried to scramble away, the jet dropped a 2,000 pound bomb, then another killing most of them.

The New York Times reported that “this incident is being disclosed for the first time and the Baghuz strike was one of the largest civilian casualty incidents of the war against ISIS.

The New York Times confirmed that US-led coalition forces to combat ISIS bulldozed the blast site. And top leaders were not notified.

According to the newspaper, the details of the attack were gathered as a result of examination of confidential documents and reports for months, and direct meetings with relevant employees and officials.

After the results were sent to Central Command, the latter acknowledged the attack for the first time and that the air strikes were justified, and acknowledged that 80 people had died.

The newspaper quoted the US Central Command as saying “the strike killed 80 people, but said it was “justified”. It said “the bombs killed 16 fighters and four civilians. As for the other 60 people killed, it was not clear that they were civilians, in part because women and children in ISIS sometimes took up arms.”