US Military Bombs Syrian Mosque During Evening Prayers, Killing Dozens

While rescuers continue to search rubble for civilian victims, attack widely condemned as war crime

By Lauren McCauley | 17 March 2017

COMMON DREAMS — U.S. military officials have confirmed that a U.S. aircraft struck a mosque outside of Aleppo, Syria during evening prayers on Thursday, killing dozens of civilians, in an attack that many are calling a war crime.

Airwars’ Samuel Oakford reported that U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that a raid “took place in the vicinity of al-Jinah village, which is located in western Aleppo governorate, just a few kilometers from the border with Idlib. CENTCOM spokesperson Maj. Josh Jacques said the target was ‘assessed to be a meeting place for al Qaeda, and we took the strike.'”

Jacques added that the target “happened to be across the street from where there is a mosque.”

And Washington Post staff writer Thomas Gibbons-Neff reported:

US official: AQ strike in N. Syria involved two Reapers that fired roughly entirety of their Hellfire payload and followed up w/ 500lb bomb.

— Thomas Gibbons-Neff (@Tmgneff) March 17, 2017

The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that at least 42 people were killed and dozens wounded. Local activists told Al Jazeera that “the mosque was full of worshippers,” with an estimated 300 people “inside at the time of the air raids.” […]