CARACAS – Venezuela has claimed that at least 40 people including civilians and military personnel were killed in a US attack carried out early Saturday.
The New York Times reported that a senior Venezuelan official while speaking on condition of anonymity said those killed in the alleged US strikes included both civilians and members of the armed forces.
The official said the attacks were launched in the early hours of Saturday.
The US authorities, however, have neither confirmed nor denied any casualties resulting from the operation.
Speaking to Fox News, US President Donald Trump referred to American troops involved in the action and said no US soldiers were killed. He did, however, confirm that several US military personnel were injured during the operation.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Cain said during a press conference that US helicopters carried out an operation aimed at removing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
He stated that during the operation, one helicopter came under fire but remained flight-capable, and all US aircraft returned safely.
It may be recalled that a day earlier, the US military carried out strikes at multiple locations, including the Venezuelan capital and claimed to have detained President Maduro and his wife before transferring them to New York.
In this regard, the Russian media had earlier reported that the US attacks targeted Venezuela’s defence headquarters and that President Maduro had left the presidential palace.
The situation remained unclear as conflicting claims from Caracas, Washington and international media emerged while no independent confirmation of the reported casualties took place.
