US jets kill dozens in Syria after Trump announces pullout

The US and its allies have conducted air raids on Syria’s eastern Dayr al-Zawr province, killing more than two dozen people, including eight children.

News ID: 442578

Date: 23 December 2018 - 17:42

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the deadly strikes hit the village of al-Sha'afa, situated on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, on Friday.

"At least 27 people were killed this morning in al-Sha'afa," SOHR head Rami Abdel Rahman said, adding that several people were seriously injured in the US-led coalition attacks.

He further noted that eight children were among the civilian victims of the airstrikes.

In the period between 22/09/2014 and 22/11/2018, #USled Coalition airstrikes have killed 12,596 people across #Syria including 3,618 civilians. In 12/2018, US decides to withdraw its troops from Syria. Now who will give those people their lifes back ??#SyriaWithdrawalpic.twitter.com/XDBUPJJ51X
— Alma Harlow (@Alma_harlow) December 20, 2018

Al-Shaafa and Hajin are the two main villages in the last pocket of territory still occupied by the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in Dayr al-Zawr near the Iraqi border.

The Syrian army managed to liberate Dayr Al-Zawr city from the grip of Daesh in November 2017.

Trump’s typical bravado about “winning the war” is contemptible. In reality, Syria stands as an historic defeat for US imperialism. https://t.co/80L3ZYfjDL
— Strategic Culture (@Strateg_Culture) December 21, 2018

The US and its allies have been bombarding what they call Daesh positions inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus government or a UN mandate.

The aerial assaults have failed to fulfill their declared aim of countering terrorism, but destroyed much of Syria's infrastructure and left many civilian casualties.

The fresh US air raids came two days after President Donald Trump announced an abrupt decision to pull out American troops from Syria after claiming victory over Daesh there.

The Pentagon also confirmed that it had started the process of withdrawing all 2,000 American troops from Syria

Trump's announcement, however, raised concerns among Washington's European and regional allies, which have long been supporting a myriad of anti-Damascus militants.

Analysts described US forces' withdrawal from Syria as a victory for Damascus and its allies, which was made possible through the resistance of the Syrian nation and government during the foreign-sponsored militancy in the Arab country.

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