In early 2020 Airwars, after years of engagement with the U.S. military on civilian harm in Iraq and Syria, was given the geocoordinates of hundreds of strikes the U.S. military said had inadvertently killed or injured civilians. Working with The Washington Post, this powerful investigation highlighted some of those killed and the significance of the Airwars disclosure.

“Using U.S. military geolocation data being made public for the first time, U.K.-based watchdog group Airwars has pinpointed locations, some of them to within a meter squared, for hundreds of strikes resulting in more than 1,400 civilian deaths,” the article said.

“The analysis represents a breakthrough in advancing public understanding of the war’s unintended impact and provides a new basis for potential compensation payments to families of those killed.”

The full story of how Airwars secured the most comprehensive locational data on civilian harm ever released by the US military is available here.