US-led coalition aircraft have allegedly bombed a prison in Syria killing dozens of civilians. The director of public affairs for the coalition campaign confirmed that an investigation had been launched.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/US Air Force/M. Bruch
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The US-led coalition admitted that it had conducted airstrikes on so-called "Islamic State" (IS) targets in the Syrian town of al-Mayadeen. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) had reported already earlier in the day that at least 42 people had been killed in al-Mayadeen during an air strike on a prison run by IS. The jail reportedly contained civilian prisoners as well as jailed members of the terrorist group.
SOHR stated at the time that the strike was believed to have been carried out by the coalition, adding that the death toll might be closer to 60 according to some of its sources on the ground.
"The strikes hit an IS jail in Mayadeen at dawn on Monday, killing 44 prisoners and 15 jihadists," chief of the Britain-based Observatory Rami Abdel Rahman told news agency AFP.
US reaction
The US-led coalition later confirmed that it had performed airstrikes in the area: "The Coalition conducted strikes on known ISIS command and control facilities and other ISIS infrastructure in (Mayadeen), Syria, June 25 and 26," Colonel Joe Scrocca, coalition director of public affairs, said in an email to the Reuters news agency, referring to IS by another commonly-used name.
"The removal of these facilities disrupts ISIS's ability to facilitate and provoke terrorist attacks against the coalition, our partner forces and in our homelands. This mission was meticulously planned and executed to reduce the risk of collateral damage and potential harm to non-combatants."
Colonel Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the US-led coalition meanwhile told Reuters: "With every single allegation we will take it and look into it. "If we are responsible for any civilian casualties we come forth and admit it," he said.
Dillon added that Observatory reporting had previously been exaggerated.
The activist-run Deir Ezzor 24 media outlet also said that at least 60 civilians were killed in the attack, adding that the building had belonged to a commander with links to al Qaeda before it was seized by IS in 2014.
Both Deir Ezzor 24 and SOHR identified aircraft from the US-led coalition as the alleged source of the bombing but it was not clear how they had identified the aircraft responsible. Syrian state-run TV station al-Ikhbariya also cited a correspondent in the area as saying thatcoalition warplanes had destroyed a building in al-Mayadeen used as a prison by IS.
In a news bulletin flashed on screen, it said the building had been used as a prison for a "large number of civilians,"
Who's fighting in the Syria conflict?
Syria's civil war erupted out of the Arab Spring protests that swept much of the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. The conflict has since drawn in multiple warring factions from around the world.
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War with no end
Syria has been engulfed in a devastating civil war since 2011 after Syrian President Bashar Assad lost control over large parts of the country to multiple revolutionary groups. The conflict has since drawn in foreign powers and brought misery and death to Syrians.
Image: picture alliance/abaca/A. Al-Bushy
The dictator
Syria's army, officially known as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), is loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and is fighting to restore the president's rule over the entire country. The SAA has been fighting alongside a number of pro-Assad militias such as the National Defense Force and has cooperated with military advisors from Russia and Iran, which back Assad.
Turkey, which is also part of the US-led coalition against IS, has actively supported rebels opposed to Assad. It has a tense relationship with its American allies over US cooperation with Kurdish fighters, who Ankara says are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighting in Turkey. Turkey has launched multiple military offensives targeting Kurdish militias.
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The eastern guardian
The Kremlin has proven to be a powerful friend to Assad. Russian air power and ground troops officially joined the fight in September 2015 after years of supplying the Syrian army. Moscow has come under fire from the international community for the high number of civilian casualties during its airstrikes. However, Russia's intervention turned the tide in war in favor of Assad.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Tass/M. Metzel
The western allies
A US-led coalition of more than 50 countries, including Germany, began targeting IS and other terrorist targets with airstrikes in late 2014. The anti-IS coalition has dealt major setbacks to the militant group. The US has more than a thousand special forces in the country backing the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/A.Brandon
The rebels
The Free Syrian Army grew out of protests against the Assad regime that eventually turned violent. Along with other non-jihadist rebel groups, it seeks the ouster of President Assad and democratic elections. After suffering a number of defeats, many of its members defected to hardline militant groups. It garnered some support from the US and Turkey, but its strength has been greatly diminished.
Image: Reuters
The resistance
Fighting between Syrian Kurds and Islamists has become its own conflict. The US-led coalition against the "Islamic State" has backed the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias. The Kurdish YPG militia is the main component of the SDF. The Kurds have had a tacit understanding with Assad.
Image: Getty Images/A. Sik
The new jihadists
"Islamic State" (IS) took advantage of regional chaos to capture vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Seeking to establish its own "caliphate," IS has become infamous for its fundamentalist brand of Islam and its mass atrocities. IS is on the brink of defeat after the US and Russia led separate military campaigns against the militant group.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
The old jihadists
IS is not the only terrorist group that has ravaged Syria. A number of jihadist militant groups are fighting in the conflict, warring against various rebel factions and the Assad regime. One of the main jihadist factions is Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which controls most of Idlib province and has ties with al-Qaeda.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Nusra Front on Twitter
The Persian shadow
Iran has supported Syria, its only Arab ally, for decades. Eager to maintain its ally, Tehran has provided Damascus with strategic assistance, military training and ground troops when the conflict emerged in 2011. The Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah also supports the Assad regime, fighting alongside Iranian forces and paramilitary groups in the country.
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Target: Mayadeen
Mayadeen is located in the Euphrates Valley about 45 kilometers (28 miles) southeast of Deir Ezzor, the capital of a province bearing the same name.
US intelligence officers had previously told Reuters, on condition of anonymity, that IS had moved most of its leaders to al-Mayadeen as Raqqa came under increasing attack. Among the operations believed to have moved to al-Mayadeen were its online propaganda operation and its limited command and control of attacks in Europe and elsewhere, they said.
Last week the coalition said that it had killed IS's top cleric Turki Binali in a May 31 strike in Mayadeen and earlier this month Russia said it had killed about 180 IS jihadists, including two field commanders, in June 6 and 8 air strikes on Deir Ezzor.
