Syria slams U.S. statement over airstrikes as fabricated accusation

Syria's Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi on Thursday slammed the U.S. State Department statement that condemned the Syrian airstrikes against the northern province of al-Raqqa, saying the statement contains fabricated accusations, according to the official SANA news agency.

The statement of U.S. State Department deliberately ignored the acts of the Islamic State (IS) in al-Raqqa, including kidnapping, killing, looting and raping, said al-Zoubi.

Spokesperson of the U.S. State Department Jen Psaki said that her department was "horrified" by the Syrian airstrikes against the province of al-Raqqa, which is the de facto capital of the Islamic State. Activists said over 100 people were killed by the airstrikes.

"We are horrified by the reports that the Assad regime's airstrikes in Raqqa killed dozens of civilians and demolished residential areas," Psaki said.

Psaki said in a press conference in Washington that the U.S. had "consistently condemned the Assad regime's violence directed against civilians and its ongoing human rights abuses and violations of international law."

She said the U.S. remains "committed to supporting the Syrian opposition and working towards a political solution that stops the violence and leads to a future of freedom and dignity for all Syrians."

In Damascus, al-Zoubi charged that the Psaki statement constitutes incorrect accusations against the Syrian state.

"It is an attempt by the U.S. State Department to push the world to disregard terrorism crimes through directing incorrect accusations against the Syrian state in the interest of those terrorist organizations," al-Zoubi said.

He said that it was more "adequate" to the U.S. State Department to respect the souls of American victims who were slaughtered by the IS, not to direct "fabricated accusations" against the Syrian state.

He charged that the statement contradicts other statements by U. S. officials on their uncertainty of the aforementioned airstrikes.

Al-Zoubi affirmed that the Syrian army doesn't target the civilians and will not do so, adding that misleading the public opinion became part of the U.S. statements. Enditem