Pentagon inquiry finds human errors behind mistaken airstrike targeting Syrian-aligned forces

The Pentagon said on Tuesday a series of human errors resulted in a mistaken coalition airstrike in September that killed dozens of forces aligned with the Syrian government.

"We concluded based upon post-strike analysis that a number of 'human factors' resulted in incorrect identification of forces on the ground," said the U.S. Central Command in a statement after an inquiry into the incident.

"In this instance, we did not rise to the high standard we hold ourselves to," said Jeff Harrigian, U.S. Air Forces central commander, in the statement.

Several factors led to the misidentification of the forces targeted, according to the U.S. military inquiry, which claimed that the those killed by the airstrike "were not wearing recognizable military uniforms and identifying flags."

There were also errors in the development of intelligence, as well as missed opportunities for Coalition members on duty to recognize and voice contrary evidence to decision makers, the inquiry found.

Also, human factors, such as "improper labeling" and "invalid assumptions," resulted in labeling of individuals as militants of the Islamic State group early in the targeting process, the inquiry concluded.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sept. 17 that the U.S.-led coalition killed 62 Syrian government troops and injured some 100 others in a round of airstrikes in eastern Syria's province of Deir al-Zour.

Syria's national TV also confirmed the killing of Syrian servicemen by the U.S.-led coalition. Endit