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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| 173 civilians die in airstrikes in Iraq and Syria | |
| 2016-12-02 | |
“To date, based on information available, CJTF-OIR has assessed it is more likely than not that, since the start of Operation Inherent Resolve, 173 civilians have been inadvertently killed by Coalition strikes,” the US-led coalition said in a statement obtained by ARA News. “We regret the unintentional loss of civilian lives resulting from Coalition efforts to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria and express our deepest sympathies to the families and others affected by these strikes,” it said. During the month of October, the coalition received 18 reports of possible civilian casualties resulting from Coalition strikes in Iraq and Syria in the fight against ISIS. “Twelve of these reports were determined to be non-credible, three were determined to be credible, and three reports are still being assessed,” the coalition said. The coalition stressed that although its air forces make extraordinary efforts to strike military targets in a manner that minimizes the risk of civilian casualties, in some cases casualties are unavoidable. “Four past reports of possible civilian casualties and three of the reports received in October were determined to be credible resulting in the unintended death of 54 civilians,” it said. This included airstrikes in the Syrian cities of Sala Heya, Shaddadi, Manbij, Taltanah, and one airstrike in Iraq, near Fasitiyah town. More from al-Manar: US-led Coalition Admits Another 54 Civilian Deaths in Syria, Iraq Strikes The US-led coalition “bombing the ISIL group” in Syria and Iraq said Thursday that 54 civilians had been “inadvertently killed” in seven air strikes between March and October. The announcement brings the official coalition tally of civilians killed to 173 since the “anti-ISIL” campaign began in the fall of 2014 — though critics say the real figure is far higher. “Although the coalition makes extraordinary efforts to strike military targets in a manner that minimizes the risk of civilian casualties, in some cases casualties are unavoidable,” the coalition said in a statement. Although the coalition has announced that it targets ISIL terrorists, analysts consider that its role reinforced the militant group in several areas and wonder how the takfiris managed to widen their deployment in several cities despite the aerial control of the US-led forces. | |
| Posted by:badanov |