US: Mosque strike OK because of ISIS

An airstrike by the US-led coalition fighting ISIS targeted a mosque in Syria last week because it was determined to be an insurgent command-and-control center, the United States said Sunday.

The coalition said in a statement that while the law of war protects mosques, the use of the building as a headquarters by ISIS caused it to lose that protected status. It said a dozen fighters were killed.

Army Gen. Joseph Votel, the top American commander for the Middle East, said Sunday that he is very satisfied that commanders went through the proper procedures to determine that the mosque was being used by ISIS and that it was a legitimate target.

Syrian state media and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said last week that a series of strikes in Sousa killed and wounded dozens, civilians as well as ISIS fighters.

The coalition’s statement, focused on the mosque, said monitoring of the building “made us aware” of when only ISIS fighters were present. It said the strike took place Thursday when it was being used to coordinate attacks on the coalition and on US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

Sousa is in the last ISIS-held pocket in Syria and Syrian Democratic Forces have been on the offensive for weeks trying to clear the area of the extremists.

ISIS fighters recently stormed a settlement for displaced people in the area and kidnapped 130 families.