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Islamic State Uses Hajin Hospital as Base in Battle with SDF, US Army Says

Islamic State fighters used Hajin Hospital as a base in the battle with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces on December 9, the Combined Joint Task Force said.

As a result, the hospital lost its protected status under the Geneva Conventions, military officials said.

The Syrian Democratic Forces claimed to have captured the hospital from Islamic State fighters on December 10.

The Syrian government, via the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency, said the US-led coalition destroyed the hospital, killing eight civilians on December 7.

The Special Ops Joint Task Force in Iraq and Syria on December 9 denied the coalition was responsible for a strike on Hajin Hospital, and said Islamic State fighters detonated an explosive within the facility.

Footage released by the Department of Defense is said to show an Islamic State militant firing at coalition partner forces from Hajin Hospital on December 9. Credit: CJTF-OIR via Storyful