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US-Led Coalition: No Indication of Civilian Casualties From Strike in Raqqa

© AP Photo / Hussein MallaA U.S. soldier stands near Syrian children on a road that links to Raqqa, Syria, Wednesday, July 26, 2017
A U.S. soldier stands near Syrian children on a road that links to Raqqa, Syria, Wednesday, July 26, 2017 - Sputnik International
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US-led coalition fighting the Daesh terror group in Syria and Iraq has found no solid evidence that civilians were killed when it launched an airstrike on a school in the Iraqi city of Raqqa in March 2017, a spokesperson for Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve's Public Affairs Office told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"[B]ased on all evidence provided, to include weapons system video, we have no solid indication civilian casualties resulted from this strike," the spokesperson said in an email.

The spokesperson was commenting on a report by UN investigators released on Tuesday, which concluded Russia and the US-led coalition in Syria conducted airstrikes that killed large numbers of civilians and asked Russia and the United States to review the incidents.

The spokesperson explained that the coalition is interested in the information used by UN investigators that reached a different conclusion and would be willing to reevaluate its assessment if "credible or compelling additional information" was obtained.

READ MORE: Russia Sends Detailed Explanation on Eastern Ghouta to UN Envoy

The report was made amid Russia's proposals to set up an international humanitarian commission on the basis of the United Nations to assess the situation in Raqqa.

READ MORE: US-Led Coalition: No Value in Russia's Proposal for UN Commission on Raqqa

The UN Security Council has recently held a meeting on the humanitarian situation in Syria, which was primarily focused on the situation in East Ghouta, but the participants in the discussion mentioned other areas of Syria, including Raqqa, liberated from Daesh (banned in Russia) in October 2017 with the support of the US and its allies.

As UN Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock outlined during that meeting, civilians cannot safely return to Raqqa, as well as humanitarian workers do not have access to the city, which urgently needs to conduct a mine clearance operation.

READ MORE: Even Attacks on Jabhat Al-Nusra Were Stopped During Ceasefire in Syria's Duma

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