Accessibility links

Breaking News

U.S.: Hospital, Civilians Were 'Collateral Damage' In Russian Raids


The United States has information indicating that recent bombing raids by Russia in Syria "caused collateral damage," including killing civilians and hitting a hospital, the State Department said October 29.

Civil groups have charged that Russian warplanes hit hospitals and killed civilians, but Moscow has vigorously denied doing so and earlier this week demanded that nations with evidence of such casualties produce documentation.

"We've seen some information that would lead us to believe that Russian military aircraft did hit a hospital," U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

"We have other operational information that leads us to believe that Russian targeting has not only not been focused on [the Islamic State group], but has in fact, caused collateral damage and some civilian casualties to include some civil infrastructure."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based monitoring group, last week said that 13 people including medical staff were killed in Russian air strikes October 20 on a Syrian-American Medical Society hospital in Idlib.

An International Committee of the Red Cross official told Russian television he was unaware of any such incidents, however.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG