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June 14, 2017

U.N. Officials: U.S.-Led Airstrikes in Raqqa Causing "Staggering Loss of Civilian Life"
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United Nations war crimes investigators say U.S.-led coalition
airstrikes on the Syrian city of Raqqa are causing a "staggering loss of
civilian life." The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces launched the
offensive to retake the city of Raqqa from ISIS a week ago. Since then,
the U.S.-led coalition has been launching an average of more than a
dozen airstrikes a day against the city. Among the recent reported
victims of the airstrikes and attacks by U.S.-backed troops are a young
girl named Tal Al Jasser, a father named Mahmoud Farouk al-Khalaf and
his 4-month-old child, and a boy named Khaled al Khalaf al Sayel, who
reportedly died alongside his sister and his father. Meanwhile, in more
news on Syria, unnamed U.S. defense officials have told CNN that the
Pentagon has moved its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System from Jordan
into Syria for the first time, positioning it near the U.S. military
base at al-Tanf.


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