An American airstrike in Syria last month reportedly killed more than 50 Syrian civilians who were being held by ISIS over alleged violations of Sharia law. Local eyewitnesses and a Syrian human rights organization say that the U.S. bombs took out an ISIS prison holding 55 to 61 political prisoners who were accused of crimes like wearing jeans and showing up late to prayer.
Though the Pentagon originally denied civilian casualties, this past weekend it acknowledged the attack and the reports of non-ISIS deaths. American airstrikes elsewhere in Syria have had dubious success, angering locals and shifting their sympathies toward ISIS.
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