Pentagon underreporting civilian deaths in Iraq, Syria

According to details released by the Pentagon yesterday, 119 civilians have been killed since 2014 as a result of US-led coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.

Commenting on the details released, the US Central Command’s (CENTCOM) Major Josh Jacques was cited by the Guardian as saying that the latest release did not include casualties from coalition airstrikes in mid-July near Manbij, Syria.

Monitoring groups say the Manbij airstrikes killed dozens of civilians. According to Jacques, and investigation into the airstrikes was nearing completion.

According to US military data, the United States has conducted 12,354 airstrikes against Daesh since 2 November 2014, with 6,992 sorties in Iraq and 5,362 in Syria.

Given the scale of the bombing, monitoring groups are deeply sceptical of the Pentagon’s figures and stress that it has dramatically underreported civilian deaths.

Yesterday alone, US-led coalition airstrikes killed 23 civilians in Raqqa in one day.

The US airstrikes against the city of Manbij and the surrounding area is also reported to have killed an estimated 200 civilians. At least 56 civilians were killed in one single incident, who at the time the US claimed they “mistook for [Daesh].”