US Airstrikes Hit Grain Silos In Syria, Killed Civilians, Human Rights Group Says

[Purveyor]

(Reuters) - U.S.-led air strikes hit grain silos and other targets in Islamic State-controlled territory in northern and eastern Syria overnight, killing civilians and wounding militants, a group monitoring the war said on Monday.

The aircraft may have mistaken the mills and grain storage areas in the northern Syrian town of Manbij for an Islamic State base, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. There was no immediate comment from Washington.

The United States has targeted Islamic State and other fighters in Syria since last week with the help of Arab allies, and in Iraq since last month. It aims to damage and destroy the bases, forces and supply lines of the al Qaeda offshoot which has captured large areas of both countries.

The strikes in Manbij appeared to have killed only civilians, not fighters, said Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Observatory which gathers information from sources in Syria.

"These were the workers at the silos. They provide food for the people," he said. He could not give a number of casualties and it was not immediately possible to verify the information.

more...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/29/us-mideast-crisis-syria-idUSKCN0HO0EV20140929

[Autumn]

1. Collateral damage by the most indispensable nation in the world

See, this is why we need boots on the ground.

[Newsjock]

2. Why do you hate America?

[arcane1]

3. That's how we roll n/t

[Fred Sanders]

4. Nothing to see here, Israel killed thousands and no one seems to care either.

The vaunted American military and intelligence can not tell a grain silo from a terrorists base tells you exactly how glorious the 122 million a pop F-22 is really worth, even in the absence of any air defence.

[flamingdem]

5. I imagine the grain silo hit was intentional

unless they say otherwise. They're trying to degrade Isis and their sustenance is part of that in this town that is a base for them.

[Maedhros]

8. Unfortunately, the silo was probably sustenance for everyone else who lives there as well. [n/t]

[reddread]

9. that was their mistake

[NCTraveler]

6. Website of the organization giving Reuters this info says something different.

Reuters says they got their information from Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. According to their(SOHR) own website, it states that the silos are owned by IS. I highly doubt that was a mistake as being reported here by Reuters.

http://syriahr.com/en/2014/09/coalition-warplanes-target-menbej-silos/




"Aleppo province: coalition warplanes targeted Menbej silos and al-Hesba HQ which belongs to the IS between Menbej and Jarblis, confirmed reports of casualties in the silos workers and al-Hesba HQ."

1) IS owns the silos according to SOHR yet this one guy thinks it was a mistaken strike. That makes no sense coming from him. Common sense tells me it was a clearly intended target.

2) They are not sure the number of people killed or who they are. Those facts are starting to become more clear but as of this article it wasn't. So, Abdulrahman doesn't know who was killed or how many. He just knows they weren't part of the intended target even though the target is owned by IS.

Not kidding, these are two back to back sentences in this Reuters piece.

"The strikes in Manbij appeared to have killed only civilians, not fighters, said Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Observatory which gathers information from sources in Syria."

"These were the workers at the silos. They provide food for the people," he said. He could not give a number of casualties and it was not immediately possible to verify the information."

Always remember, the US isn't the only group out there using propaganda as a tool. It is used by all.

[Comrade Grumpy]

11. Hmmm, there seems to be some ambiguity in the SOHR phrasing...

...that lends itself to two different interpretations:


"Aleppo province: coalition warplanes targeted Menbej silos and al-Hesba HQ which belongs to the IS between Menbej and Jarblis, confirmed reports of casualties in the silos workers and al-Hesba HQ."

Do the Menbej silos and al-Hesba HQ both belong to ISIS? Or is it just the al-Hesba HQ which belongs to ISIS?

Who knows?

[NCTraveler]

13. After a little more research I am surprised Reuters and others use SOHR.

Then again, this seems to be the standard these days. "These were the workers at the silos. They provide food for the people," he said. He could not give a number of casualties and it was not immediately possible to verify the information."

Understandably, it is probably extremely difficult to get accurate info out of these places. The one man show that is SOHR is literally calling his "friends" to get the information. The information is NEVER verified by them. He takes people he doesn't know well at their word and writes it as gospel if it fits his agenda. Hmmmmm. Maybe a little like us. lol.

[seveneyes]

14. ISIL owns anything they want as long as they are in control

Including the lives of the innocent under their control. They live by the sword.

[Union Scribe]

7. They've been freedomized.

We liberated them from ISIS

[leftstreet]

10. Striking at the seeds of terrorism

[NCTraveler]

12. To add.

http://rt.com/op-edge/us-arms-syria-rebels-750/

It appears as though the organization SOHR has one man who releases all of its information. This individual has clearly stated where his loyalties lie. It is clear that this "organization" has some serious credibility issues. He was working out of his two bedroom apartment. Think he still is.

[Comrade Grumpy]

15. SOHR has been the go-to source for numbers on this war for several years.

It supposedly relies on a network of informants around the country.

Yes, it is not sympathetic to the Assad regime. I'm not sure it's sympathetic to ISIS, though.

As I mentioned above, the SOHR report was a bit ambiguous as to whether the silo belonged to ISIS. I wouldn't spend a lot of time trying to denigrate the group because it has a report that could make the US look bad.

[NCTraveler]

16. Seems many organizations don't like how SOHR operates.

It is a one man show. He literally calls his people "on the ground". That in itself isn't even verifiable. The information on his own website doesn't match the quotes he gave Reuters. Not denigration, more like a red flag. The actual SOHR report actually isn't ambiguous about who owns the silo. I am also not denigrating the group. Pointing out the inconsistencies of the man in charge in just this one article. It is one man in a two bedroom apt I think in Europe who makes phone calls to "friends". Who are is friends? Your guess is as good as mine. Reuters even makes it clear that they will not back the information up in any way at all. rt and other news organizations used here often have the same thoughts on this group. It is not denigrating. It is knowing who is delivering information. I don't even like calling it a group. It is one man and from there just his word. He has also stated that he is sympathetic to the rebels.

[Dirty Socialist]

17. Yet Another Reuters/DU Exclusive

Another reason this site is one of my primary news sources.
I happen to be for bombing ISIS, but this might turn around and bite us in the Ass!