Coalition airstrike kills 18 Kurdish fighters in Syria

The Pentagon announced this morning that a U.S.-led coalition airstrike killed 18 allied fighters on Tuesday. U.S. forces obtained the coordinates for the attack from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main militia group fighting Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in the area. The primarily Kurdish force told U.S. officials the site belonged to ISIS, but it was an SDF forward position instead. U.S. Central Command supports SDF fighters with airstrikes, helicopter gunships, and Marine artillery. SDF is fighting ISIS now in Tabqah, in northern Syria, as part of the push to oust ISIS from the group’s stronghold in Raqqa. “The coalition is in close contact with our SDF partners who have expressed a strong desire to remain focused on the fight against ISIS despite this tragic incident,” U.S. officials said in a statement. It’s not clear which of the U.S. allies in the region carried out the strike.