British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights now reporting crimes against civilians committed by the US-led anti-ISIS coalition: We are going to continue to document all crimes committed against the Syrian people as long as there are hearts beating inside all of us because we do not follow any government or any international intelligence apparatus, Abdul Rahman told Foreign Policy. The Syrian Observatorys most recent allegations against Washington came on Sept. 29 when the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State militant group conducted eight airstrikes in villages in northern and eastern Syria. According to the group, one strike hit a grain silo in the town of Manbij, killing two civilians. There was no ISIS inside, Abdul Rahman told the Associated Press, using an acronym for the self-proclaimed Islamic State. The two victims brought the coalitions civilian death toll to 19, according to the group, a statistic that is damaging to regional perceptions of Americas role in the conflict. At the time of the strike, U.S. Central Command said the silo was a logistics hub and vehicle staging facility used by militants. Later, the U.S. Defense Department announced it was investigating reports of civilian deaths in the strike. Now the Pentagon will neither refute nor substantiate the Syrian Observatorys claims about the deaths in Manbij -- or anywhere else in Syria. We still cannot verify these reports of civilian casualties, the Pentagons spokesman, Rear Adm. John Kirby, told FP. thecable.foreignpolicy/posts/2014/10/10/the_activists_assad_hates_most_are_now_obama_s_problem
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 10:44:41 +0000