Story highlights Syrian reports suggest mosque hit; US says al Qaeda meeting targeted

US will investigate allegations of civilian casualties, military official says

(CNN) The US military has said it conducted airstrikes in a northern Syria location where local reports say a mosque was struck and more than 40 people died, but the military denies it bombed a place of worship.

Instead, a US military official said, Thursday's airstrike along the border of Idlib and Aleppo provinces struck a building believed to be hosting an al Qaeda meeting near a mosque.

That building was 40 to 50 feet from the mosque, but recent satellite imagery shows the mosque still is standing, the official said.

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News about the airstrike emerged from local reports, via the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , saying warplanes bombed a mosque in the village of al-Jena, killing at least 42 people and injuring dozens of others.

Most of those killed were civilians, the observatory said.

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