Pentagon Chief Orders New Inquiry Into U.S. Airstrike That Killed Dozens in Syria
The New York Times
The decision follows a New York Times investigation that described allegations that top officials had sought to conceal civilian casualties.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on Monday ordered a new high-level investigation into a U.S. airstrike in Syria in 2019 that killed dozens of women and children, the Pentagon said.
The investigation by Gen. Michael X. Garrett, the four-star head of the Army’s Forces Command, will examine the strike, which was carried out by a shadowy, classified Special Operations unit called Task Force 9, as well as the handling of the task force’s investigation by higher military headquarters and the Defense Department’s inspector general, Pentagon officials said.
General Garrett will have 90 days to review inquiries that have been conducted into the episode and further investigate record-keeping errors, reports of civilian casualties, whether any violations of laws of war occurred, whether any recommendations from previous reviews were carried out, and whether anyone should be held accountable, the officials said.
