US strikes may have killed 119 civilians in Iraq, Syria since 2014: Pentagon
The Pentagon figures are far lower than casualty estimates by monitoring groups
The United States, which carries out 80 percent of the coalition bombing, says it uses precision-guided munitions that limit civilian casualties (AFP)
Thursday 10 November 2016
The Pentagon said on Wednesday that US air strikes in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State group may have killed 119 civilians since 2014, a figure far lower than casualty estimates by monitoring groups.
The figures released by Centcom, the US military command in the Middle East, came from a months-long review of reports and databases, it said, adding that the deaths and injuries stemmed from 24 air strikes.
London-based NGO Airways estimates coalition bombing has killed 1,787 civilians since the air campaign to destroy the Islamic State group began in August 2014.
"We have teams who work full time to prevent unintended civilian casualties," Colonel John Thomas was quoted as saying in the Centcom statement.
"We do all we can to minimize those occurrences even at the cost of sometimes missing the chance to strike valid targets in real time."
The Pentagon's investigation found that "in each of these strikes the right processes were followed; each complied with Law of Armed Conflict and significant precautions were taken, despite the unfortunate outcome," Thomas said.
The United States, which carries out 80 percent of the coalition bombing, says it uses precision-guided munitions that limit civilian casualties.
Meanwhile Russia is accused of using conventional bombs that are much more deadly to civilian populations.
Amnesty International estimates that there have been at least 300 civilian victims in Syria alone from coalition strikes.
The number of casualties has risen sharply since the start of the coalition's campaign in late 2015 to lay the groundwork to take back IS strongholds in Mosul, Iraq and Raqa, Syria.
On Wednesday, A US-led coalition air strike killed 20 civilians, including two children, overnight in a village near the Islamic State group's Syrian stronghold of Raqqa, a monitor said Wednesday.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of people were also wounded in the strikes on Tuesday night on the village of Al-Heisha, some 40 km north of Raqqa.
"The toll has risen to 20 civilians, including nine women and two children," Observatory chief Rami Abdul Rahman said.
The monitor had earlier given a toll of 16 dead.
Abdul Rahman said 32 people had also been injured in the strikes, adding that all the casualties were civilians.
Al-Heisha is controlled by IS and has been a target of a new assault by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as it pushes to capture Raqqa.
A spokeswoman for the Kurdish-Arab alliance dismissed the reports of civilian deaths.
"There is no such thing, and any such claims are IS news," Jihan Sheikh Ahmed told AFP.
The SDF's media account said at least six IS fighters had been killed by US-led coalition strikes in the village and accused the militant group of preventing civilians from leaving Al-Heisha in a bid to use them as "human shields."
The US-led coalition had no immediate comment on the report.
