Airwars: Civilian Deaths from US-Led Coalition’s Airstrikes in Syria, Iraq are Eight Times Higher than Washington Claims

NEW YORK-The number of civilians killed in American-led airstrikes in Iraq and Syria spiked this year. Data compiled by Airwars, a London-based nonprofit group that tracks reports of civilian deaths in the two countries, showed a significant jump in the number of reported deaths in the first three months of 2017.

The US military recently claimed that American-led airstrikes had been responsible for at least 352 civilian deaths since the start of the war against the so-called “Islamic State”. But Airwars estimated that the total was eight times higher. The group found that at least 3,100 civilians were killed in American-led airstrikes from August 2014 to March 2017.

 The increase has also led some human rights groups to question whether changes in procedure are responsible. In December, under President Barack Obama, some American and allied advisers in the field were authorized to call in airstrikes in Iraq without approval from an operations center. President Trump has also shifted more authority over military operations to the Pentagon, according to Airwars.

Lama Fakih, the deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that “making it easier to call in airstrikes will almost necessarily afford civilians fewer protections from being injured or killed.”

H.M