The US-led coalition said that more than 1,250 civilians were killed in 34,038 airstrikes against the ISIS extremist group in Iraq and Syria during a more than four-year period.
In a statement on Thursday, the international coalition said it had conducted 34,038 strikes between August 2014 and the end of February this year.
“At least 1,257 civilians have been unintentionally killed by Coalition strikes since the beginning of Operation Inherent Resolve,” it said.
The coalition’s statement added: “We continue to employ thorough and deliberate targeting and strike processes to minimize the impact of our operations on civilian populations and infrastructure.”
It said the death toll was based on information available to the coalition.
Airwars, an NGO which monitors civilian casualties from air strikes worldwide, estimates that at least 7,595 civilians have been killed in coalition bombing raids — well in excess of the total acknowledged by the coalition.
On 11 September, the international coalition forces carried out deadly airstrikes east of the city of Deir Ezzor, killing many civilians, including women and children as part of the final push against ISIS’s last holdout in Syria.
The Syrian Coalition has repeatedly condemned any military targeting of civilians across Syria. It said it would reject any justification from the international coalition for the bombing of civilians as it demanded that those responsible be held to account. It also called for taking utmost precautions when launching airstrikes against ISIS.
The US-led international coalition early last month admitted its airstrikes have killed more than 1,190 civilians in Syria and Iraq since mid-2014. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
