US Central Command has finished a credibility assessment on the July 19 strike in the village of al-Tukhar near Manbij, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed up to 56 civilians were killed. Army Col. Christopher Garver, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, said the assessment found credible evidence of civilian casualties, and a formal investigation has launched. Since the strike occurred in a contested area, investigators will likely not be able to inspect physical evidence from the scene, but CENTCOM has many other methods to investigate the claims, Garver said. CENTCOM also has begun a credibility assessment from a July 23 strike on the village of Al Nawaja east of Manbij, though details were not available on this strike.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
