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US-Led Coalition Sees 'No Evidence' of Civilian Casualties in Syria's Baghuz

19:22 GMT, 11 March 2019
© REUTERS / Rodi Said
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State terror group has not seen any evidence of civilian causalities incurred during the recent airstrike on the Syrian village of Baghuz, Colonel Sean Ryan, a spokesperson for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), told Sputnik Monday.
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"CJTF-OIR is not seeing any evidence of civilian casualties at this time", Ryan said. "We take all allegations of civilian casualties seriously. As part of our stringent planning process, we take extraordinary measures to avoid civilian casualties".

Earlier in the day, Syrian state TV reported that more than 50 people, most of them women and children, were killed during an airstrike launched by the US-led coalition on the village of Baghuz in Syria's Deir ez-Zor province.

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The reports come after the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced earlier this month that they had resumed their offensive on Baghuz following the evacuation of civilians. According to the SDF, only militants remain in Baghuz, which they describe as the last stronghold of the Daesh terror group in the region.

Meanwhile, co-chair of the US mission of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) Bassam Ishak told Sputnik that the battle for the Syrian city of Baghuz was going slowly in order to protect hostages held by the Daesh terrorists.

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Syrian Democratic Forces Press Office chief Mustafa Bali said earlier that about 15,000 people had left the area over the past two weeks. According to the SDF, most of the Daesh militants remaining in Baghuz are foreigners.

US-led forces are conducting airstrikes and other military operations in Baghuz. The coalition's operations in Syria are not authorized by the Syrian government or the UN 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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