40 killed in US airstrikes on Venezuela, report says

Xinhua, Philippine News Agency

President Donald J. Trump (Screengrab from Donald J. Trump/facebook)

WASHINGTON – At least 40 people were killed in US airstrikes on Venezuela on Saturday, including civilians and members of the armed forces, The New York Times reported, citing an anonymous senior Venezuelan official.

The large-scale attack took place in the early hours of the morning as US forces carried out an operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

The couple is now in custody in New York.

The newspaper said it had verified video footage showing thick smoke and repeated explosions near La Carlota Airport in the Venezuelan capital city of Caracas.

In Catia La Mar, a city west of the capital, an airstrike hit a three-story civilian apartment building, blowing out its exterior walls, said the newspaper, noting at least one elderly woman was killed, and another person seriously injured.

Multiple US media outlets, citing Venezuelan government sources, reported that in addition to Caracas, military targets in the Caribbean coastal states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira were also struck.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said earlier on Saturday that both civilians and military personnel were among the casualties but did not provide specific figures.

US President Donald Trump told Fox News in an interview on Saturday that during the operation to seize Maduro, some US personnel were injured, but no American troops were killed.

One U.S. military aircraft was damaged, he added.