The U.S.’ Syrian Airstrikes Seem to be Going Really Well

Thursday, the Pentagon admitted that 18 members of the Syrian Democratic Forces had been mistakenly killed in a U.S.-led coalition airstrike.

The strike, which occurred in northern Syria near Tabqah, was intended to take out what forces identified as an ISIS base but was actually being used by members of the SDF fighting against the Bashar al-Assad government.

That group includes Kurds, Assyrians, Turkmen, Armenians and Arabs, and has also been working on counterattacks against the Islamic State in Syria.

And while it’s not clear which coalition member actually carried out the strike, the Pentagon has issued a statement about the incident. Per NBC News, the Pentagon says: “The Coalition is assessing the cause of the incident and will implement appropriate safeguards to prevent similar incidents in the future.”

This incident follows one from March 16 where an American airstrike on a possible Al Qaeda base might have actually killed 49 Syrians worshipping in a mosque. That case is also being investigated by U.S. command, but no follow-up has been issued yet, so the investigation is assumed to be ongoing.