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US-Led Coalition Probing Possible Civilian Casualties in Syria

© AP Photo / Bilal HusseinThe US-led coalition against Daesh will buy an unspecified amount of non-standard ammunition from Orbital ATK weapons manufacturer
The US-led coalition against Daesh will buy an unspecified amount of non-standard ammunition from Orbital ATK weapons manufacturer - Sputnik International
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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.

READ MORE: US Troop Numbers to Fluctuate During Syria Withdrawal — Pentagon

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.

In this undated photo released Thursday, May 11, 2017, by Hawar News, the news agency for the semi-autonomous Kurdish areas in Syria, shows fighters from the Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces, patrolling on a street in Tabqa, northern Syria - Sputnik International
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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.

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