Civilian deaths tripled in U.S.-led campaign against ISIS in 2017, watchdog alleges
Source: Washington Post
Civilian deaths tripled in U.S.-led campaign against ISIS in 2017, watchdog alleges
By Missy Ryan January 18 at 5:37 PM
U.S. and allied strikes against the Islamic State may have killed as many as 6,000 civilians in 2017, as international forces pushed militants out of strongholds in Iraq and Syria, a watchdog group said Thursday.
“In 2017 the war against ISIS moved into the most densely-populated urban centers controlled by the group, with dire results for civilians,” Airwars said in a report summarizing its investigations for the year, which it called the “deadliest yet” for Iraqis and Syrians.
ISIS is an acronym for the Islamic State, the extremist group that drew Western nations into a new Middle Eastern conflict after it captured large swaths of Iraq and Syria in 2014.
Airwars, which investigates allegations of civilian casualties by using social media and other information sources, said that between 3,923 and 6,102 noncombatants were “likely killed” in air and artillery strikes by the United States and its partners in 2017.
The estimate for Iraq and Syria was more than triple that of the year before, Airwars said.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/civilian-deaths-tripled-in-us-led-campaign-during-2017-watchdog-alleges/2018/01/18/ccfae298-fc6d-11e7-a46b-a3614530bd87_story.html
