US-led coalition strikes mosque in northern Syria

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - The U.S.-led coalition hit a mosque Thursday believed to be a military command post for Daesh in northern Syria.

The strike "destroyed an ISIS command and control facility in a mosque" in Safafiyah town in Deir ez-Zor province, the coalition said in a statement, using another name for Daesh.

The terror organization "continues to violate the Law of Armed Conflict and misuse protected structures like hospitals and mosques, which cause a facility to lose its protected status," it said.

The coalition said the strike killed Daesh terrorists "who presented an imminent threat to our Syrian partner forces."

The attack also "eliminated another deadly ISIS operational capability from the battlefield," said the statement.

The coalition did not mention any civilian casualties from the strike.

The strike came a day after four Americans, including two soldiers, were killed in an apparent suicide attack claimed by Daesh in the northern city of Manbij.

Over the past few months, the coalition has carried out several strikes on mosques in northern Syria it said hosted Daesh terrorists, killing dozens of civilians.