UK Defense Ministry Acknowledges Civilian Casualties in Syria Airstrike in March

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The UK Defense Ministry said Wednesday that a civilian was killed in a UK airstrike in eastern Syria on March 26 that targeted three members of the Daesh* terrorist group.

"We do everything we can to minimize the risk to civilian life from the UK strikes through our rigorous targeting processes and the professionalism of UK Service personnel. It is therefore deeply regrettable that a UK air strike on 26 March 2018, targeting Daesh fighters in eastern Syria, resulted in an unintentional civilian fatality," Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson said in a written statement to Parliament.

The civilian was killed as he crossed the area of the airstrike on a motorbike, the statement added.

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The ministry indicated that it was not able to provide any further details for reasons of national security and due to ongoing operations.

The United Kingdom is a member of an international coalition of more than 70 states, which has been conducting military operations against Daesh in Syria and Iraq since 2014. According to the UK Defense Ministry figures, the UK Royal Air Force has carried out over 1,600 airstrikes in Syria and Iraq so far.

*Daesh (aka Islamic State, IS, ISIS, ISIL) terrorist group banned in Russia