Masjid targeted in Syria: at least 57 civilian worshippers killed. (Looks like US-made missile used)

Jan 25, 2013
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Russia and the United States, as thick as thieves. The same Russia that regularly saves Assad in the UN, that saved him from serious consequences after he used chemical weapons, that repeatedly targets hospitals, and that has saved Assad's genocidal regime from falling (i.e. postponed the inevitable).

Russia, which has previously criticized US bombing inside Syria, came to the defense of the Americans. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said:

"The airstrike…targeted a building located across the street from the mosque, where al-Qaeda members usually held meetings….

Of course, there should be a probe into what happened in al-Jina in order to figure out what target was hit and who are the victims that the so-called witnesses are talking about. However, we don’t have any doubts that the US airstrikes targeted terrorists."

In contrast, Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said, “This is a crime against humanity, this is a war crime. Bombing civilians, people in the mosque, and a house of worship is unacceptable.”


Syria Daily: US Tries to Deny Deadly Attack on Mosque

Turkey should really stop allowing the US to use its base until it agrees to behave regarding civilians and agrees to not target the rebels.
 
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dgiharris

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I'm the furthest thing from an expert on this conflict. All I can say is that with my very limited understanding of things, this strike looks really really bad :(

Whenever something like this happens, I always wonder how many terrorists did we just create???

I don't think trying to thread the needle in a strike like this was advisable. The whole "Well we hit the building across the street from the mosque so everything's A-okay..." rhetoric is only going to inflame Muslims everywhere.

calling a mosque by another name doesn't negate it being a mosque.

I dunno, it feels like we need to rethink how we deploy drones in urban settings.
 
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essentialsaltes

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Articles on the incident from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. SOHR has anti-Assad, pro-opposition biases, but it wouldn't seem to have any particular reason to be anti-US. The UN and Amnesty International consider them reliable.

3/17 The number of casualties continues to rise as a result of the massacre which was carried out on Thursday night the 16th of March 2017 in the western countryside of Aleppo, and in the details that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented, the number of persons who were killed raised to 49, due to a massacre carried out by US warplanes when they targeted a call-for-Islam center of the Tablighi Jamaat group in al-Jinah village in the western countryside of Aleppo, and reliable civil sources confirmed to the Syrian observatory for human rights that the center was targeted with missile strikes which destroyed parts of it during one of the lessons attended by tens of people, the majority of the killed people are of Syrian nationality, also the sources confirmed to the observatory that the meeting was only a call-for-Islam lesson, and there was no military lesson or preparation for a military plans in the targeted center.

3/17 (earlier) The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented so far the death of 46 persons, the majority of them are civilian citizens, they were killed in a massacre carried out by warplanes which targeted a mosque in al-Jinah village southwest of Atareb town in the western countryside of Aleppo, and the death toll is expected to rise because there are some people in critical situation and others are still missing, where the search for missing, dead bodies and survivors under the rubble of the destruction caused by the bombing is still taking place, the warplanes which targeted the mosque is unknown

3/16 The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented so far the death of 42 persons, the majority of them are civilian citizens, they were killed in a massacre carried out by warplanes which targeted a mosque in al-Jinah village southwest of Atareb town in the western countryside of Aleppo, and the death toll is expected to rise because there are some people in critical situation and others are still missing, where the search for missing, dead bodies and survivors under the rubble of the destruction caused by the bombing is still taking place, the warplanes which targeted the mosque is unknown.


I've seen hints that the Pentagon 'would' investigate if there were reliable reports of civilian casualties. I certainly think the evidence I've seen so far demands an investigation.
 
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Jan 25, 2013
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Confirmed by a US official to be a US airstrike according to one journalist. This must be confusing to the supposed anti-war, anti-intervention crowd because this strike targeted those against Assad and allies (who they defend or want to be left alone by the US), but the strike was by the US. In the end, I'd guess they hate the Muslims who oppose Assad more than they hate US intervention.

Sometimes memes can say the same thing in a better way:

u9emb.png

Tweet source

I always find it amusing, in a sad way, that so many of those sorts of leftists are against the opposition to Assad but feign so much concern for refugees and justifiably rail against policies of many Western governments towards refugees and immigrants. If they truly cared for the refugees, they would be in support of stopping Assad who sparked the biggest humanitarian crisis since WWII. The opposition toppling him will stem the flow of refugees.
 
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Recently another strike hit a school shelter, I think around 20-30+ killed, IIRC. Look, I know collateral damage is to be expected in any intervention like this, but these two incidents and some damage in Iraq as well deserve much attention from the military if they're serious about minimizing civilian deaths.

Looking at the conflict in general, well, I just don't think there are any real "good guys" here. Most of the opposition is either dead, collaborating with more extreme elements or collaborating with the regime. The little remnants of genuine moderate opposition don't have long. And I don't think I can trust any of the bigger players to be serious about making things right here. That comes as a secondary to their primary self-interests (U.S. for further Western influence, Russia for power projection beyond their borders and influence in the ME, Turkey for stopping the Kurds from gaining too much, etc.). It's up to the ordinary people now to figure out how best to remedy the current humanitarian crisis. And God willing, this'll end at some point. When or how, I don't know, but it will.
 
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Freedom~Sprite

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Only on Christian Forums would a Christian say that people killed in a house of worship by a bomb strike are not victims.
If they're Muslim terrorists they're not victims. Only terrorist sympathizers would defend terrorism and ignore ISIS and its allies beheading Christians even in their church.
 
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Aryeh Jay

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If they're Muslim terrorists they're not victims. Only terrorist sympathizers would defend terrorism and ignore ISIS and its allies beheading Christians even in their church.

Oh, OK.
 
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essentialsaltes

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Pentagon is investigating.

"The US military has begun a formal investigation into its Thursday airstrike in northern Syria after locals reported that a mosque was struck and more than 40 people killed, two US defense officials told CNN."
 
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Aryeh Jay

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Pentagon is investigating.

"The US military has begun a formal investigation into its Thursday airstrike in northern Syria after locals reported that a mosque was struck and more than 40 people killed, two US defense officials told CNN."

The minimum safety zone for a Hellfire missile is 150 meters. That is for Military troops with body armor and helmets. They are claiming to have hit a building 40 feet away from the Mosque. That is well within the danger zone for unprotected civilians.
 
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