Trump Just Killed At Least 57 Innocent People In Airstrike On Packed Syrian Mosque
On the campaign trail, President Trump promised that he would “take out the families” of suspected terrorists. We now know that he was deadly serious.
Earlier today, the United States air force launched a unilateral airstrike against the Umar ibn Al-Khaṭṭāb mosque in the village of al-Jinah in West Aleppo province, Syria, during the evening prayers, which killed at least 57 and possibly as many as 70 people, wounding around a hundred worshippers. One room of the mosque was completely destroyed; rescuers are still trying to dig people out.
US Central Command has confirmed the airstrike took place, but has only said they are “investigating” the allegations of civilian casualties, in a typically vague statement.
JUST IN: @CENTCOM says a US airstrike killed "several terrorists" today, hitting an "Al Qaeda in Syria meeting location" in Idlib pic.twitter.com/aR9Vvdlxak
— Andrew deGrandpre (@adegrandpre) March 17, 2017
POLITICO and New York Times contributor Samuel Oakford of monitoring group Airwars first broke the news:
At least 75 of them were killed today in multiple airstrikes on the ibn Al-Khaṭṭāb mosque in al-Jinā. Many still trapped under the rubble. pic.twitter.com/QUZTGHhwxM
— Sakir Khader (@sakirkhader) March 17, 2017
Houses opposite of mosque (see satellite image) were "Al Qaeda meeting place", @samueloakford was told by CENTCOM. https://t.co/gyPRBd2ao3
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) March 17, 2017
The strike was targeting suspected militants belonging to al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, but with over 300 worshippers present at the mosque, civilians were certain to die en masse – but Trump’s Pentagon went for it anyway.
Eyewitnesses say seven missiles were fired. The images coming out of Aleppo are horrifying to behold.
PHOTOS (graphic): Aftermath of alleged US airstrike on mosque west of #Aleppo that killed 70+ people – @markito0171 pic.twitter.com/uFFqf2FM46
— Conflict News (@Conflicts) March 16, 2017
The strike was first believed to have been carried out by the Russians until rescuers found fragments of American missiles.
So remember Idlib drone strike in October 2016? It appears the same missile was used in the Al Jīnah mosque strike. h/t @EliotHiggins. pic.twitter.com/1v3tbVdXA7
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) March 16, 2017
The Pentagon has reportedly sought less restrictive “rules of engagement” for the war in Syria – and Trump has clearly given it to them.
Trump’s short tenure as President has seen innocent civilians slaughtered in droves. His first covert raid on Yakla village in Yemen led to the deaths of 30 civilians, including ten children, in what witnesses described as a “massacre.”
Syrian state media and the “Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently” activist group also allege that a US airstrike on March 11 killed as many as 17 civilians, many of them children.
Now the United States military is using the same tactics used by the Russians and the Saudi Arabians in their “war on terror” – bombing civilian locations to get a few suspected terrorists.
#pt: No underestimating the damage this apparent US strike in Al-Jinah will have done – rebels now equate US w. #Russia & #Assad. Dangerous.
— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) March 17, 2017
Trump’s nihilistic disregard for human life is horrifying to behold; not to mention counterproductive in the extreme. Nothing will perpetuate the cycle of extremism and provoke plots of revenge against America quicker than brutally murdering innocents like this.
This is a war crime, plain and simple. Unfortunately, since Trump is intent on slashing all public programs to pour money into the military, it’s clear that it won’t be that last.
WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO
Video from @SyriaCivilDef/@scd_aleppo shows men being found alive amid the rubble after airstrikes in #Al_Jeineh. https://t.co/d5ewxfdgAg pic.twitter.com/7ujH8muqPg
— Jake Godin (@JakeGodin) March 16, 2017
While the US CENTCOM says the airstrike was in Idlib province and the airstrike actually hit West Aleppo – a few kilometers over the border – Airwars’ Christiaan Triebert points to inaccurate US maps for the discrepancy.
Possible explanation: CENTCOM's "region labels" which aren't always that accurate. See excellent mapping by @obretix https://t.co/4ms8dHIQuR pic.twitter.com/YDKgtmcGRs
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) March 17, 2017
Geolocation of mosque bombed by the US is CONFIRMED: southeast of Al-Jīnah, w-Aleppo, #Syria. https://t.co/BLjjLH93or pic.twitter.com/j0gKDk7Kzf
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) March 17, 2017
Opinion columnist and former editor-in-chief of Occupy Democrats. He graduated from Bennington College with a Bachelor's degree in history and political science. He now focuses on advancing the cause of social justice and equality in America.