Aug. 7 (UPI) — The U.S.-led military coalition fighting a war in Syria has confirmed its responsibility for the deaths of 105 more civilians, bringing the total number of deaths since airstrikes began in 2014 to 1,059.
The U.S. military’s report detailed incidents dating from Aug. 23, 2016 — when a drone strike against suspected Islamic State militants killed one civilian — to May 15. The coalition confirmed 105 civilian deaths after review of 16 credible reports, but added 234 reports were still being investigated.
“Throughout our air and ground campaigns, we have used deliberate targeting and strike processes to minimize the impact of our operations on civilian populations and infrastructure,” the report states. “Our assessments of civilian casualties are transparent, and we hold ourselves accountable through regularly published strike press releases and civilian casualty reports.”
The report was issued after Amnesty International released a report in June blaming 77 civilian deaths, including 24 children and 25 women, on the coalition.
When Amnesty International published its report in June, U.S. military officials criticized the findings.
“They are literally judging us guilty until proven innocent. That’s a bold rhetorical move by an organization that fails to check the public record or consult the accused,” Col. Thomas Veale told reporters at the time.
“They never asked us for a comment, an interview or a courtesy check of the draft. They also failed to check the public record thoroughly.”
Many of the confirmed civilian deaths in the U.S. military’s report were based on the initial findings by Amnesty International.
