Pentagon Confirms Austin Ordered Inquiry Into 2019 US Airstrike in Syria That Killed Civilians

© AP Photo / Maya AlleruzzoTracer fire lights up the night sky as U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fire on the Islamic State militant-held village of Baghouz, Syria, Tuesday, March 12, 2019.
Tracer fire lights up the night sky as U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fire on the Islamic State militant-held village of Baghouz, Syria, Tuesday, March 12, 2019. - Sputnik International, 1920, 29.11.2021
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered an inquiry into a 2019 airstrike in Syria that led to dozens of civilian casualties, Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby said during a press briefing.
“The Secretary has directed today a review of the civilian casualty incident that occurred on March 18, 2019 in Baghuz, Syria," Kirby said on Monday. "The inquiry will include an assessment of the following things: the civilian casualties that resulted from the incident, compliance with the law of war, record keeping and reporting procedures, whether mitigation measure identified in previous investigations into the incident were in fact implemented effectively, whether accountability measures would be appropriate, and finally, whether authorities, procedures or processes should be altered."
US Army Forces Command chief Michael Garrett will lead the effort and has been given 90 days to complete the inquiry, Kirby added.
The airstrike is reported to have killed up to 80 people. It was said to have been called in by Task Force 9, a secret US special operations unit responsible for ground operations in Syria. An investigation into the incident never occurred, and mentions of it were removed from a recent Defense Department report on the civilian casualties reporting process, US media reported.
A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle flies over northern Iraq early in the morning of Sept. 23, 2014, after conducting airstrikes in Syria. This F-15 was a part of a large coalition strike package that was the first to strike ISIL targets in Syria - Sputnik International, 1920, 14.11.2021
US Acknowledges 2019 Airstrikes in Syria After NYT Report Reveals Dozens of Civilians Were Killed
The US Central Command is reported to have said the strike killed 16 militants and four civilians, while the status of another 60 people was unclear, as Daesh* occasionally uses women and children as fighters too.
Back in 2019, the Syrian Human Rights Network told Sputnik that the US-led international coalition to defeat the Daesh and the Syrian Democratic Forces must be held accountable for the 12-hours bombing of Baghuz, in which civilians were used as human shields by the terrorists, who prevented them from leaving the last stronghold they controlled.
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia and many other states
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