Anti-IS coalition admits causing 801 civilian deaths in Iraq, Syria
Spokesperson for the U.S.-led Coalition Spokesperson, Col. Ryan Dillon
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The U.S.-led international coalition against Islamic State has admitted causing 801 civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria, it said in a statement on Thursday.
A monthly report released by the coalition, viewed by IraqiNews, said the coalition admitted to causing the “unintentional” death of 801 people in Iraq and Syria since operation “Inherent Resolve” was launched against the militant group in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
“To date, based on information available, CJTF-OIR assesses at least 801 civilians have been unintentionally killed by Coalition strikes since the start of Operation Inherent Resolve. A total of 695 reports are still open,” read the statement.
“The Coalition conducted a total of 28,198 strikes that included 56,976 separate engagements between August 2014 and October 2017,” it added.
War monitoring group Antiwar had previously put the deaths at up to 5961.
“We continue to hold ourselves accountable for actions that may have caused unintentional injury or death to civilians,” the coalition said.
Iraq declared the total fall of Islamic State’s territorial influence in the country earlier this month. The group is also nearing defeat in Syria to U.S.-backed Kurdish militias and Russian-backed Syrian government forces.
The war against IS in Iraq has displaced at least five million, according to United Nations figures.