Pentagon Chief: Civilian Deaths in Syria and Iraq Are "Fact of Life"

The Chief of the Pentagon, General James Mattis, has said that the US will be "accelerating the temp" of the fight against Daesh and that because of this civilian deaths should be seen as a "fact of life."

Mattis told CBS' flagship show, Face the Nation, that while coalition — namely US — forces "do everything humanly possible" to avoid the killing of civilians, "civilians casualties are a fact of life in this sort of situation."

Mattis said that the war against Daesh had moved away from the battle of attrition in the form of continuing airstrikes toward what he called, "annihilation tactics" to stop those foreign fighters who join the self-styled caliphate from returning home.

General Mattis' comments come at a time when the US has been accused by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights of killing at least 106 civilians, including 42 children, in an airstrike on...