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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| U.S. Says Civilian Toll in Syria Raid May be Higher than Thought |
| 2022-02-12 |
U.S. military officials say there could have been more civilian casualties than initially thought in the raid that killed the top Islamic State leader in Syria last week, but they believe any such deaths were caused by the militant's suicide bomb and were not at the hands of American forces. Laying out a chronology of the raid by special operations forces, officials also said they cannot be certain that Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi detonated the bomb that killed him and his family at his home in the sleepy village of Atmeh near the Turkish border. But they said it was set off by him or someone else on the third floor of the building where he lived. Previously the Pentagon and President Joe Biden had said al-Qurayshi blew up himself, his wife and two children. The military officials said Thursday they believe the upper floor was rigged to explode and that it's most likely al-Qurayshi did it, not one of his family members. They also said it's possible that others — perhaps additional wives he had — could have been with him and killed in that blast. They said the blast threw "multiple bodies" from the building and buried them in the rubble, and while they know al-Qurayshi and his family died, they can't rule out the possibility that other bodies were hidden in the collapse and not seen by the troops. Speaking to a small group of reporters, two senior military officials involved in the planning or execution of the operation provided the most details to date on the Feb. 2 raid, pushing back against claims by residents and activist groups that the U.S. operation killed as many as 13 people, including civilians. They spoke on condition of anonymity as a condition for providing the briefing. The Biden administration and the Pentagon have come under sharp criticism recently for failing to provide evidence for a number of national security claims, including proof of their efforts to avoid civilian casualties in operations such as the Syria raid and their account of a suicide bombing in Afghanistan in August. Read the rest at the link Related: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi: 2022-02-09 DHS Declares Multi-Faceted Terrorism Threat Through June 7 Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi: 2022-02-07 SDF investigates, arrests own members following Hasaka prison break attempt Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi: 2022-02-04 Day 2: NGO says ISIS trafficked in Yazdi wimmin, Iraq and Israel provided info for al-Qurayshi raid in Idlib |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #8 Cry me a river. Only regret is that more uncle's, aunts and cousins weren't blown up with his wives. |
| Posted by: Ulolump Grumble1426 2022-02-12 12:46 |
| #7 LOL 😂 well-played, Senor Skeed |
| Posted by: Merrick Ferret 2022-02-12 12:37 |
| #6 ^ and in an hour you want more. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2022-02-12 12:34 |
| #5 This administration's official numbers are no more reliable than Communist China's |
| Posted by: Merrick Ferret 2022-02-12 12:17 |
| #4 Kinda like the monthly job totals and covid cases, the numbers keep getting revised. Of course, you only do this when your previous lies are about to be exposed. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2022-02-12 11:51 |
| #3 Explaining the lack of video of the house explosion, the officials said the team was watching the building and overhead surveillance was focused on the surrounding area to detect any potential threats to the force. They said there is also no body-cam video. I can't help but think this was a drone strike. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2022-02-12 06:58 |
| #2 "The first casualty when war comes is truth." ~ Attributed in the modern era to Senator Hiram Johnson, 1918. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2022-02-12 04:55 |
| #1 Lying bastards. They murdered those civilians because they thought it was OK. Just like in Afghanistan. |
| Posted by: Punky Elmigum9411 2022-02-12 04:40 |