The March 2019 attack was the subject of a recent New York Times investigation that alleged the Department of Defense concealed the attack because some believed it could be a war crime.
that alleged the Department of Defense tried to conceal the attack and some inside its ranks believed it may have constituted a war crime. ... [+]Key Facts
On March 18, 2019, special operations unit Task Force 9 dropped several large bombs on Baghuz, Syria, a community that was largely controlled by the Islamic State and contained “thousands” of members and their families, Capt.
The strike killed 80 people, 16 of whom were confirmed Islamic state fighters and 4 of whom were civilians — the identities of the other 60 remain unknown after an investigation because some women and at least one child were armed, and the “exact mixture of armed and unarmed personnel could not be conclusively determined,” Urban said in a statement toKey Background, Air Force units in the area were not aware of plans for the attack before it happened. Air Force lawyer Lt. Col.