US-Led Coalition Probing Possible Civilian Casualties in Syria

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US-led coalition is investigating whether an attack out on January 22 caused the deaths of civilians in Syria, Operation Inherent Resolve-Joint Task Force said in a statement on Friday.

"Through self-reporting, Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve is investigating a potential incident involving civilian casualties in the Middle Euphrates River Valley in Syria on Jan. 22, 2019," the coalition said.

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The coalition did not specify exactly where the incident took place. However, reports in recent days have indicated that several civilians were killed in a coalition airstrike in the village of Baguz in Deir ez-Zor province, which lies in the Middle Eastern Euphrates River Valley.

According to the Ikhbariya TV channel, coalition jets struck vehicles carrying civilians who were fleeing the village, where US-led forces were battling the Daesh* terrorist group.

Women and children were among those who were killed or injured in the airstrike, the reports stated.

"This incident is under investigation, and the coalition will release additional details once it is complete," the coalition said.

The new reports come as Syrian media have frequently published and broadcasted news of civilian casualties resulting from the US-led coalition's airstrikes. The coalition has acknowledged that at least 1,114 civilians have been killed in Syria and Iraq as a result of its campaign to defeat the Daesh.

Syrian authorities have repeatedly called on the United Nations to hold those responsible for civilian deaths accountable and put an end to the US-led coalition's unauthorized presence on Syrian territory. Syria has been mired in a civil war since 2011, with the government forces fighting against numerous opposition groups as well as militant and terrorist organizations. In 2014, the US-led coalition of over 70 states launched its military operation against the Daesh* terrorist group in Syria, which was not authorized by Damascus.

The US-led coalition's activities in Iraq are conducted in cooperation with Iraqi officials, but those in Syria are not authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the United Nations Security Council.

*Daesh, also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS/Islamic State, is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries.