ADDS SAMANTHA POWER REMARKS, SC MEETING DETAILS
NEW YORK (AA) – An Obama administration official late Saturday expressed regret for the “unintentional loss of life” for an airstrike by coalition forces that killed 62 Syrian regime troops, according to The Associated Press.
At least 62 Syrian forces died and almost 100 others were injured earlier in the day during an anti-Daesh coalition attack on a military base in eastern Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry said earlier in the day.
Following a UN Security Council meeting that the Russian mission to the UN called regarding the deadly airstrike, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power accused Russia of pulling a “stunt” by calling the meeting.
“Even by Russia’s standards tonight’s stunt, a stunt replete with moralism and grandstanding, is uniquely cynical and hypocritical,” Power told reporters.
Power’s remarks came after the Russian ambassador to the UN reportedly condemned the airstrike during the closed meeting.
The air operation was carried out near Deir ez-Zour airport using the 2 F-16 and 2 A-10 aircraft belonging to coalition forces, according to a statement issued by the Russian Defense Ministry’s Facebook account.
The Pentagon said coalition aircraft conducted an airstrike south of Deir ez-Zour that was “halted immediately” after Russia informed the U.S.-led coalition “that it was possible the personnel and vehicles targeted were part of the Syrian military.
“Coalition forces believed they were striking a Da’esh fighting position that they had been tracking for a significant amount of time before the strike,” Central Command said in statement.
The crisis comes in the wake of a Russia-U.S. brokered week-long humanitarian cease-fire, and just days before the UN General Assembly gathers more than 190 world leaders for its annual summit.
