US strikes on Syrian troops: Report data contradicts 'mistake' claims

[TomSea]

US strikes on Syrian troops: Report data contradicts 'mistake' claims

Moscow and Damascus cited the attacks as the reason for declaring an end to the ceasefire in Syria

The summary report on an investigation into US and allied air strikes on Syrian government troops has revealed irregularities in decision-making consistent with a deliberate targeting of Syrian forces.

The report, released by US Central Command on 29 November, shows that senior US Air Force officers at the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) at al-Udeid Airbase in Qatar, who were responsible for the decision to carry out the September airstrike at Deir Ezzor:

    misled the Russians about where the US intended to strike so Russia could not warn that it was targeting Syrian troops
     
    ignored information and intelligence analysis, warning that the positions to be struck were Syrian government rather than Islamic State
     
    shifted abruptly from a deliberate targeting process to an immediate strike in violation of normal Air Force procedures

Last week Brig. Gen. Richard Coe, the lead US official on the investigating team, told reporters that US air strikes in Deir Ezzor on 17 September, which killed at least 62 - and possibly more than 100 - Syrian army troops, was the unintentional result of “human error”.

The report itself says that the investigators found “no evidence of misconduct” - but it is highly critical of the decision process and does not offer any explanations for that series of irregularities.

Read More At: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-strike-syrian-troops-report-data-contradicts-mistake-claims-1291258286