Report shows dozens of civilians killed in US airstrike demanded by PYD

Dozens of civilians living in the village of al-Khan in the Hasakah region of northeastern Syria were killed in a U.S. airstrike on Dec. 7, acting on a tip from the PKK terrorist organization-affiliated Democratic Union Party's (PYD) armed wing People's Protection Units (YPG) and a call to an American aircraft to hit DAESH targets, according to a report published by the BBC on Thursday. Based on an eye-witness account from the only surviving victim of the incident, Abu Khalil, the report says that some 47 civilians, half of them children, were killed in the U.S.-led airstrike on the PYD-controlled area. Quoting Abu Khalil's words, it states that after his and his neighbor's house were rocketed, a second offensive came with a U.S. Apache helicopter targeting the rubble, killing everyone except him.

Although the U.S. military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said that it would investigate the incident after the story hit the headlines in December, the institution later said it had looked at its records and claimed it did not attack the aforementioned village.

"It was the Americans. For the past year-and-a-half, the only aircrafts that have flown over our area have been American," Abu Khalil said.

According to Abu Khalil, the YPG militants afterward swept the incident under the carpet by filling in the hole that saved him after he emerged from the strikes. He says the YPG do not let anyone approach the place or take photos of it.

The report claims that the event occurred after the villagers tried to expel DAESH and there was an altercation that escalated into an exchange of fire, something the terrorist organization had responded to by sending reinforcements. It is suggested that a large scale movement of DAESH militants, who had a minor presence up to that time according to Abu Khalil, were spotted by the YPG and so they called in for air support.

As proof, the BBC report quotes a web page apparently published by the YPG that confirms the airstrike on al-Khan, stating: "Coalition aircraft made several raids on IS [DAESH] targets in al-Khan and finished off many rats."