US-led coalition defends strike on hospital in Syria

By Kasim Ileri

WASHINGTON

The U.S.-led coalition against Daesh on Monday defended striking a hospital in eastern Syria.

The Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) said in a press release that Daesh terrorists used Hajin Hospital in Deir ez-Zor province as a platform to engage partner forces on Sunday.

"By these actions, ISIS caused the hospital to lose its protected status afforded by the Law of Armed Conflict by using a facility otherwise protected under the Geneva Conventions," said the coalition, using an alternate name for Daesh.

Maj. Gen. Patrick Roberson, CJTF-OIR Commanding General, said the terrorist organization "has no regard for human life”.

"As we close in on them, they are getting more and more desperate and are hiding behind the safety of mosques, hospitals and other protected sites," said Roberson.

In a briefing, Pentagon spokesman Col. Rob Manning said using hospitals is "unacceptable", which he said was a "standard tactic" used by the Daesh terror group.

Manning said U.S. forces came under fire from the hospital. He had yet to comment on the casualties from the hospital strike.

In October, several mosques were targeted by the coalition in Hajin, which left dozens of residents dead.