U.S. warplanes struck a mosque compound in northwestern Syria Thursday, killing dozens of people, observer groups and eyewitnesses said today.
U.S. military officials confirmed the airstrike but said the target was a large gathering of al-Qaeda militants meeting in a building that they said was across the street from the mosque. They said initial assessments do not indicate any civilian casualties from the airstrike.
At least 49 people were killed and more than 100 injured in the attack in the rebel-held village of al-Jina in Aleppo’s countryside, according to the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The airstrike happened at 7 p.m. local time and was carried out by manned and unmanned aircraft targeting an al-Qaeda meeting, Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said at a press briefing today. He denied that the targeted building was a mosque, but said he had no information on whether the building was affiliated with a mosque.