U.S. Air Strikes On Syrian Village Kill Seven Civilians, Five Children

The recent U.S.-led air strikes carried out against ISIS positions in Syria have reportedly done little so far to curb the advance of the militant Islamic group. Unfortunately, they taken their toll on civilians in Syria, who have been killed and displaced.

On Sunday night, the coalition forces bombed the Kuniko gas plant just outside of the city of Deir al-Zor in northern Syria.

Reuters reported that the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the plant was targeted in order to damage ISIS financially as it provides power to Homs, which in turn provides numerous provinces with electricity used in the war effort.

Rami Abdelrahman, a spokesperson for the rights group, said the U.S. airstrikes destroyed makeshift refineries, thus tripling the price of diesel in the Aleppo region.

“The price went up from 9,000 Syrian pounds ($56) to 21,000 ($131) in Aleppo. Hitting these refineries has affected ordinary people, now they have to pay higher prices,” Abdelrahman said.

Also on Sunday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) organization accused America of killing seven civilians in Syria’s northern Idlib province last Tuesday, and claimed that the strike “should be investigated for possible violations of the laws of war.”

Among the dead were two men, two women and five children, all from the Kafr Deryan village in Idlib. A series of missiles reportedly hit Al Nusra Front targets outside of the town before two more missiles stuck the town itself, killing the civilians.

According to other reports, the coalition’s missiles may have mistaken the mills and grain storage areas in the northern Syrian town of Manbij for an ISIS position, although no confirmation regarding the incident has been forthcoming from Washington as yet.

It remains to be seen how effective U.S. air strikes can even be when it comes to stopping the advance of ISIS in Syria. It is becoming more obvious that the only viable option is to send in ground troops.

Unfortunately, this political “hot potato” ensures that a decision regarding “boots on the ground” will be deferred for as long as possible.

And then it will be too late.