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While the Pentagon claims that it targeted a meeting hall full of terrorists, organizations which Washington considers "reputable", such as the UK-based Syrian Observatory on Human Rights and the White Helmets group, clearly stated that a mosque was destroyed. Washington apparently only considers sources "credible" when it suits their pitch of the story, retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski told RT.

"If they can find somebody to verify what they want to put out, then the White Helmets report will be fine, otherwise, they are not credible," Kwiatkowski said.

"The White Helmets have been notoriously unreliable on a lot of things and yet the US military and the Pentagon has been very happy to reference them as a credible resource in the past and I'm sure in the future they will as well," she stressed.

The Pentagon's version also contradicts the video and witness accounts from the scene. Footage from the scene provided by the pro-opposition Qasioun News shows the aftermath and the destruction of the Al-Jinah mosque.

Other videos widely available online also show wide-scale destruction from the strike, although is impossible to definitely verify footage coming from the rebel-controlled area.

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The Russian Defense Ministry earlier on Friday also asked Washington for an explanation, after a piece of an American missile was found at the site. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said there was no doubt the US missiles were indeed intended for terrorists.

"We have no doubt that the US forces were aiming at terrorists," Zakharova said, adding, that while tragic mistakes that claim the lives of civilians do happen at war, unlike "some of our opponents, we are not going to blame them for 'intentional' killing of civilians and destruction of infrastructure."

However, he went on to say that "if they (North Korea) elevate the threat of their weapons program to a level that we believe requires action, then, that option's on the table."

He added that a "comprehensive set of capabilities" is being developed to deal with the country.

Tillerson's comments were made after visiting the demilitarized zone that divides the two Koreas.

It comes just three days after the North's state news agency KCNA warned the US of "merciless" attacks if America's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier 'USS Carl Vinson', which arrived in South Korea to take part in annual drills, infringed on its sovereignty during the exercises.

"If they infringe on the DPRK's (Democratic People's Republic of Korea's) sovereignty and dignity even a bit, its army will launch merciless ultra-precision strikes from ground, air, sea and underwater," the news outlet said.

While the exercises were taking place, a second set of trilateral drills were ongoing between the US, South Korea, and Japan, aimed at improving the capability to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles.

"The first steps are the UN sanctions. There are broader sanctions that we can consider. I think that there are additional actions that the UN, that we can consider. There are broader participation by other countries in putting pressure on North Korea," Tillerson told the Independent Journal Review news website, answering the question about possible ways to deter North Korea.

Washington does not want a conflict with North Korea, the US state secretary noted, adding that the main aim is to deliver this message to Pyongyang.

"In terms of the urgency right now is to ensure that the regime of Pyongyang has heard the message. That's why we've tried to be very clear and succinct with the message, which is, first, we do not intend to be a threat to you. We do not want to have a conflict with you. We want you to change your direction. And we want others in the region to help us help them [North Korea] make a different decision," Tillerson stressed.

The US state secretary emphasized that the United States would like to see the Korean peninsula without any nuclear weapons, but added it might become necessary to consider Japan becoming a nuclear power if the situation unfolded unfavorably.