US-Led Coalition Says Syria's Hajin Hospital Fair Target After Used By IS Forces

US-Led Coalition Says Syria's Hajin Hospital Fair Target After Used by IS Forces

The US-led coalition's attacks on a hospital in Syria's Hajin were justified because the Islamic State (IS, outlawed in Russia) terrorist group used the facility as a staging area to strike coalition forces, the coalition's Joint Task Force said in a press release on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th December, 2018) The US-led coalition's attacks on a hospital in Syria's Hajin were justified because the Islamic State (IS, outlawed in Russia) terrorist group used the facility as a staging area to strike coalition forces, the coalition's Joint Task Force said in a press release on Monday.

"ISIS forces used the Hajin Hospital as a platform to engage CJTF-OIR partner forces on Dec. 9," the release said. "By these actions, ISIS caused the hospital to lose its protected status afforded by the Law of Armed Conflict by using a facility otherwise protected under the Geneva Conventions."

Local media reported that the coalition carried out an airstrike on Friday which destroyed the hospital.

US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have reportedly advanced into Hajin and are trying to recapture the city, one of the last remaining strongholds of the IS terror group.

The US-led coalition of more than 70 countries is conducting military operations against IS in Syria, but those operations are not authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the United Nations Security Council.