Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is calling for an investigation into the March 18, 2019, U.S. airstrikes in Baghuz, Syria, after revelations by The New York Times that they killed dozens of women and children. Three 500-pound bombs were dropped on civilians gathered near the Islamic State’s last entrenchment in eastern Syria.

The U.S. command acknowledged the casualties from the strike (80 victims) only after the Times reported it. The U.S. military had tried every means to cover up the crime. Bulldozers buried the bodies of women and children at the site of the strike. The public report of the Pentagon’s inspector general was censored. And a whistleblower who tried to pass on evidence of the atrocity to Congress was removed from office.