Eight civilians were killed and three others injured in five U.S.-led coalition airstrikes against Islamic State militants a year ago in Iraq and Syria, according to investigations by the US military’s Central Command.
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The Pentagon said two civilians were killed in April and three killed in June in air strikes against the IS targets. One more person was injured during an airstrike near the Syrian town of Tall al Adwaniyah on June 19, the release said.
Two civilians were injured on June 29, 2015 near Haditha, Iraq during strikes against one ISIS tactical unit and two ISIS vehicles, Centcom said.
Officials said they had determined the strikes complied with the law of armed conflict, “and all appropriate precautions were taken”.
In November previous year, the Pentagon said four people had been killed in a U.S. air strike against an IS checkpoint in Hatra in Iraq in March.
A report published by the Syrian Network for Human Rights last month said that Russia’s bombing campaign had killed an estimated 570 civilians including 152 children and often targeted densely populated areas, markets, neighbourhoods, hospitals and vital facilities. We deeply regret the unintentional loss of life and injuries resulting from those airstrikes and express our deepest sympathies to the victims’ families and those affected.
United States military data shows there have been 9627 US-led coalition air strikes as of January 13, with 6393 in Iraq and 3234 in Syria. CENTCOM said that after a US aircraft engaged the target, and two seconds prior to impact, a auto slowed down in front of the ISIS vehicles while a motorcycle passed by.
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Though the military used the term “likely”, their statement also says that in all the strikes, “civilian casualties unfortunately did occur”. The report said there wasn’t enough evidence to determine the level of injuries of the civilians. The release marks the third time the Pentagon has acknowledged civilian casualties since its air campaign against the Islamic State began in August 2014. On July 4, in Raqqa, Syria, three civilians were killed during a strike on an Islamic State “High Value Individual”.
