In Shift, U.S. Military Says It Is Investigating Credible Civilian Casualty Reports In Iraq And Syri

[Purveyor]

Source: Washington Post

The U.S. military is investigating credible reports of civilian casualties in its campaign against Islamic State militants, the Pentagon press secretary said Tuesday, a shift after months in which defense officials said they were aware of none.

Rear Adm. John Kirby disclosed the probes on Tuesday, telling reporters at the Pentagon that U.S. Central Command is leading the review. CENTCOM officials said they have investigated the credibility of 18 separate allegations of coalition airstrikes resulting in civilian casualties between Aug. 8 and Dec. 30, and determined 13 were not credible.

Five more remain under review, however, including two from late December determined to be credible. They began as “the direct result of our own internal review process” said Army Maj. Curtis J. Kellogg, a CENTCOM spokesman, in a statement. The review of the other three allegations are still in initial phases, he added.

While the military had previously acknowledged reviewing reports of civilian casualties in airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, the elevation of two of those incidents — one in Iraq and one in Syria — into formal investigations had not previously been disclosed.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/01/06/in-shift-pentagon-says-civilian-casualties-possible-in-islamic-state-campaign/

[delrem]

1. Oh c'mon! This is 2014! And now someone, somewhere, gives a fuck?

But first, let's re-define "civilian", OK?
Like the USA does in its "war on terror".