BEIRUT, Lebanon: The US military on Thursday said a misdirected airstrike this week killed 18 allied fighters battling the Daesh group in northern Syria.
US Central Command said that coalition aircraft were given the wrong coordinates by their partner forces, the predominantly-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, for a strike intended to target Daesh militants south of their Tabqa stronghold.
“The strike was requested by the partnered forces, who had identified the target location as an ISIS fighting position,” a coalition statement read.
“The target location was actually a forward Syrian Democratic Forces fighting position.”
Central Command said the strike occurred south of Tabqa on April 11.
The SDF, with the help of air and ground support from the US-led coalition, has surrounded Tabqa.
Several nations have lent their air power to the coalition to defeat the Daesh group. It is not clear which air force was behind the strike.
The SDF on Thursday said they have entered the fourth stage of their campaign to capture the Daesh group’s de facto capital Raqqa with an advance on the militants in a valley north of the city.
The SDF said they are working to clear the militants out of the Jalab Valley, north of Raqqa. An estimated 300,000 people are in the city.
It said it wants to isolate Raqqa before attacking it. Their closest position is within 8 kilometers (5 miles) northeast of the city. But the countryside south of Raqqa is still under Daesh control.
It is unclear how many stages are planned for the SDF campaign.
US Central Command said that coalition aircraft were given the wrong coordinates by their partner forces, the predominantly-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, for a strike intended to target Daesh militants south of their Tabqa stronghold.
“The strike was requested by the partnered forces, who had identified the target location as an ISIS fighting position,” a coalition statement read.
“The target location was actually a forward Syrian Democratic Forces fighting position.”
Central Command said the strike occurred south of Tabqa on April 11.
The SDF, with the help of air and ground support from the US-led coalition, has surrounded Tabqa.
Several nations have lent their air power to the coalition to defeat the Daesh group. It is not clear which air force was behind the strike.
The SDF on Thursday said they have entered the fourth stage of their campaign to capture the Daesh group’s de facto capital Raqqa with an advance on the militants in a valley north of the city.
The SDF said they are working to clear the militants out of the Jalab Valley, north of Raqqa. An estimated 300,000 people are in the city.
It said it wants to isolate Raqqa before attacking it. Their closest position is within 8 kilometers (5 miles) northeast of the city. But the countryside south of Raqqa is still under Daesh control.
It is unclear how many stages are planned for the SDF campaign.
