Pentagon: US coalition killed 484 civilians in Syria, Iraq

At least 484 civilians have likely been killed in US-led coalition strikes against Daesh militants in Iraq and Syria since the operation began in 2014, the US military said in a statement today, in its monthly update of the total.

The US-led coalition figure, which is lower than estimates by non-governmental groups, such as Air Wars, represents an increase of 132 civilian deaths over its previous report released on 30 April. The coalition has denied loosening standards meant to protect civilians and blamed the growing total partly on an increase pace of operations in dense, urban terrain.

Yesterday a document belonging to the US State Department revealed that America has allocated $1.769 billion to train and equip Iraqi and Syrian forces in their fight against Daesh as part of the Pentagon’s budget for 2018.