The U.S. says it is investigating a coalition air attack in Syrian town of Manbij on July 19 in which it now appears women and children may have been mixed in with Islamic State fighters traveling in a convoy, and as many as 50 to 60 civilians may have been killed.
But U.S. military spokesman Col. Chris Garver insisted the strike was against a legitimate target, and that every effort was made to ensure civilians were not in the convoy before it was bombed by coalition planes.
The strike was called because forces with the U.S.-backed Syrian Arab Coalition saw what they believed was a large group of Islamic State fighters preparing a counter attack against their troops.
“The strike was against both buildings and vehicles,” Garver said. “Afterwards, we received reports from several sources, both internal and external, that there may have been civilians in the area who are mixed in and among the Daesh [Islamic State] fighters.”
Garver says while the incident will be fully investigated if the facts warrant it, U.S. commanders exercised great restraint before approving the attack.
“We thought a portion of that convoy may have civilians, may have family members or may have women and children. So we did not initially strike that portion of the convoy,” Garver explained
But Garver says by using overhead imagery, U.S. officials were able to develop a clearer picture of the convoy and who was in it.
“We got to a point where we think that they had left. We were able to kind of check to see yes, everybody’s holding a weapon or everybody’s manning a machine gun or looks like Daesh [Islamic State] and we were able to then go in and strike those portions of convoys.”
The strike was launched in the middle of a fierce battle with Islamic State fighters desperately trying to hold the city center of Manbij, in the face of a Syrian Arab assault that has retaken half the city.
Garver said the convoy attack also followed several incidents Manbij in which the embattled Islamic State forces had used civilians as human shields and bait, sending non-combatants out onto the battlefield in an attempt to try to draw fire from the Syrian Arab Coalition troops.
Garver said the U.S.-led coalition follows strict rules of engagement aimed at limiting the risk of unintended civilian casualties.
“As you’re about to strike a vehicle, you want to make sure you know what’s inside it, and if you’re not sure, you’re not going to pull the trigger until you’re absolutely sure,” he said.
