A view shows part of Tabqa dam on the Euphrates river, near Raqqa, Syria June 25, 2014. (photo credit: Nour Fourat/Reuters)
New York Times: A Dam in Syria Was on a 'No-Strike' List. The U.S. Bombed It Anyway.
Near the height of the war against the Islamic State group in Syria, a sudden riot of explosions rocked the country’s largest dam, a towering, 18-story structure on the Euphrates River that held back a 25-mile-long reservoir above a valley where hundreds of thousands of people lived. The Tabqa Dam was a strategic linchpin controlled by the Islamic State group.
The explosions March 26, 2017, knocked dam workers to the ground. A fire spread and crucial equipment failed. The flow of the Euphrates River suddenly had no way through, the reservoir began to rise and authorities used loudspeakers to warn people downstream to flee.
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WNU Editor: What saved the day was the quick actions of an engineer, and an agreement among the U.S., Russia, Syria, and the Islamic State to have a pause in the fighting to save the dam.
U.S. Air Strike On Syrian Dam In 2017 Could Have Killed Tens Of Thousands Of Civilians
Risking thousands, US targeted massive Syria dam it claimed was on ‘no strike’ list -- Times of Israel
US bombed Syrian dam risking tens of thousands of lives - NYT report -- Jerusalem Post
US nearly wiped out tens of thousands of civilians with dam strike in Syria – NYT -- RT