Coalition says killed 624 civilians “unintentionally” in Iraq, Syria
A U.S. Air Force KC-10 Extender refuels a British aircraft during a sortie to support Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve over Iraq, March 22, 2017. Extenders have provided fuel to coalition aircraft to weaken and destroy the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Air Force photo by Senior Tyler Woodward.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The United States-led coalition sid Friday it “unintentionally” killed 624 civilians in strikes targeting Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.
“”It is more likely than not, at least 624 civilians have been unintentionally killed by Coalition strikes since the start of Operation Inherent Resolve,” a statement by the coalition said, noting that the toll is related to the period between August 2014 and this July.
During June, “the Coalition completed the assessment of 132 reports, of which 121 were assessed to be non-credible and seven were assessed to be credible, resulting in 21 unintentional civilian deaths,” the statement added.
Between August 2016 and June 2017, the Coalition conducted a total of 22,983 strikes, with the total number of credible reports of civilian casualties during this time period standing at 151, the statement added.
The 68-state coalition, led by the United States, had provided vital air, and sometimes ground, support to Iraqi forces in their battles against Islamic State militants since the launch of operations to retake regions occupied by the militant group in 2014.
All parties to the military effort have, however, faced accusations by local and international human rights organizations of disregard to civilians’ safety during the offensives, which they denied.
In mid July, Airwars, a London-based, independent think-tank said coalition strikes killed up to 744 during June alone.