Syria, Iraq Airstrikes Depart From U.S. Drone Policy

The standard the U.S. imposed to limit civilian deaths from drone strikes will not apply to military operations in Syria and Iraq, according to a U.S. official. 



According to National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden, the standard Obama imposed would not apply to U.S. military operations in Syria and Iraq, as it applies only to "outside areas of active hostilities." 



"That description—outside areas of active hostilities—simply does not fit what we are seeing on the ground in Iraq and Syria right now," she told The Anadolu Agency, noting that military operations in Syrian and Iraq against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant are still conducted in line with "the law of armed conflict." 



That law prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilian areas and require armed forces to take precautions to prevent inadvertent civilian deaths as much as possible.



President Barack Obama set the U.S. standard for the strikes last year during a speech last year at National Defense University. "Before any strike is taken, there must be near certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured -- the highest standard we can set," he said.



A Yahoo News report says the White House acknowledged that it would loosen its strike policy with respect to civilian casualties during ongoing operations in Iraq and Syria.



As many as a dozen civilians, including women and children, were reportedly killed by a Tomahawk missile strike Sept. 23 in the village of Kafr Daryan in the Idlib province of Syria. 



Washington has been criticized at home and abroad for the civilian deaths caused by drone strikes in Afghanistan Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen as the U.S. wages a global war on terror against terror groups. 



As the debate continues, U.S. military forces continued to attack ISIL positions in Syria on Tuesday and Wednesday. 



"In Syria, three strikes near Kobani destroyed an ISIL armed vehicle, artillery piece and tank.," U.S. Central Command said in a statement. 



In Iraq, British and U.S. jets conducted three strikes northwest of Mosul that destroyed two ISIL armed vehicles, an ISIL occupied building, and struck two ISIL fighting positions.



The two states conducted a strike in the vicinity of Haditha Dam that destroyed an ISIL armed vehicle while another strike northwest of Baghdad destroyed two armed vehicles.



So far this week, Arab allies of the U.S. have not been involved in airstrikes on ISIL targets. 



www.aa.com.tr/en - Washington DC