US military admits killing more civilians in Syria, Iraq

The US military has issued a report, admitting killing additional civilians since it started its military campaign in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

News ID: 442755

Date: 31 December 2018 - 16:17

RNA - The report released on Sunday shows that over 1,100 civilians were inadvertently killed in airstrikes over the last four years, marking an increase of 15 people since November.

War monitoring groups, however, estimate that the raids have killed thousands of civilians.

“The Coalition conducted a total of 31,406 strikes between August 2014 and end of November 2018. During this period, based on information available, CJTF-OIR assesses at least 1,139 civilians have been unintentionally killed by Coalition strikes since the start of Operation Inherent Resolve,” said the report.

The report comes as the US has reportedly evacuated a military base in Syria, the first step towards delivering on President Donald Trump’s recent pledge to pull American forces out of the war-torn Arab country.

Some 50 American soldiers had already left the base and traveled to a base in Iraq, along with their armored vehicles and other equipment, according to local residents of al-Malikiya, in the northeastern province of Hasakeh.

The US and its allies have been bombarding what they call Daesh positions inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus government or a UN mandate.

The strikes have on many occasions resulted in civilian casualties and failed to fulfill their declared aim of countering terrorism.

In Iraq, the US and a coalition of its allies launched a military campaign against purported Daesh targets in the country in 2014, but their operations have in many instances led to civilian deaths and generally spared the terrorists.

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