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All major publications from Airwars’ documentation, research, investigations and policy teams

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7 Mar, 2024
Investigations, Policy

The bombing of Quala 4131

Visual retelling of 2007 Dutch bombing in Afghanistan that killed at least 11 civilians, later ruled unlawful by Dutch court
91765
31 Jul, 2023
Policy, Research
Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria

Impossible standards: An analysis of the US military’s Baghdadi raid review

Unrealistic US standards for confirming civilian harm make it nearly impossible to acknowledge civilian casualties
89534
23 Jun, 2023
Policy, Research
Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria

“This is not a small mistake”

Declassified Pentagon files reveal systemic failures in target identification that led to civilian deaths, from mistaking children for weapons to faulty surveillance
87009
1 Feb, 2023
Policy, Research
Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen

US airstrikes fell to historic low in 2022, despite fresh operations

The overall number of declared US airstrikes across all monitored military theatres fell from 441 in 2021 to a minimum of 36 in 2022
84863
29 Sep, 2022
Policy, Research
Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Syria

Pentagon annual report admits 12 deaths resulting from US actions in 2021

All deaths reported were in Afghanistan
82612
7 Apr, 2022
Policy
Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Palestinian territories, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen

Five takeaways from the first day of EWIPA negotiations

The shadow of the Ukraine conflict loomed large over the first day of the informal UN-backed consultations on a political declaration on restricting the use of wide area effect explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA), currently underway in Geneva. Delegates from more than 65 nations have gathered to fine tune the language of the political […]
80707
22 Dec, 2021
Investigations, Research
Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen

How do the ‘forever wars’ look under President Biden?

Is President Biden really going to end the America's decades-long campaign?
80662
18 Dec, 2021
Investigations
Afghanistan

Trump and Biden’s secret Afghanistan air campaigns revealed

Almost 800 previously secret US airstrikes in Afghanistan during 2020 and 2021 are revealed, as US military declassifies data.
78830
24 Sep, 2021
Investigations
Afghanistan

Five more Afghan strikes the US should apologise for

The US government has admitted the last drone strike of the Afghan war killed an entire family. Why stop there?
77886
6 Sep, 2021
Investigations
Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen

Tens of thousands of civilians likely killed by US in ‘Forever Wars’

A minimum of 22,000 civilians have been killed directly by US airstrikes since the start of the War on Terror in 2001, analysis finds.
77382
27 Aug, 2021
Policy
Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria

As warfare changes, the UK’s protection of civilians falls further behind

Over the last decade, warfare has undergone significant changes. Countries such as the UK and US have increasingly done their best to avoid large-scale ground deployments of their own troops, focusing instead on supporting local forces, for instance by providing air power. Through the monitoring of nearly 60,000 locally alleged civilian deaths caused by belligerents […]
66661
2 Jun, 2021
Research
Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen

Pentagon annual report declares 85 civilian deaths in recent US actions

The Pentagon’s annual report to Congress on civilian deaths and injuries resulting from US military actions around the world has declared more than 100 recent casualties. Researchers and human rights groups, including Airwars, Amnesty International and UN monitors in Afghanistan, place the actual toll significantly higher. For 2020 alone, the Department of Defence said that […]
51498
25 May, 2021
Policy
Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen

90 percent of victims of explosive weapons in cities are civilians, report finds

Nine out of ten people killed and injured by explosive weapons in cities are civilians, a new report has found, in stark findings likely to increase pressure on governments to curb the use of explosive weapons in urban areas. In total the Action On Armed Violence (AOAV) report, which surveyed explosive violence across the globe […]
73817
2 Mar, 2021
Research
Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Türkiye, Yemen

Significant drop in civilian harm during 2020 indicates Covid effect: Airwars annual report

Tracking by Airwars across multiple conflicts during 2020 shows that the number of locally reported civilian deaths from the use of explosive weapons was down by two thirds compared to the previous year. Of these fatalities, around half were in the first two months of 2020. Comprehensive new data released by Airwars in its Annual […]
62974
9 Jul, 2020
Update
Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Türkiye, Yemen

New UN report insists Soleimani assassination by US was ‘unlawful’

The US assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in Baghdad in January 2020, was unlawful on several counts, according to a new report submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council by its expert on extrajudicial killings. Dr Agnes Callamard, the current UN Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Executions, […]
50231
7 May, 2020
Policy
Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen

Pentagon concedes 211 more civilian deaths across four war zones in latest report to Congress

The Department of Defense (DoD) informed Congress on May 6th that US forces in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and Somalia had between them killed at least 132 civilians and injured 91 more during 2019. The Pentagon also reported a further 79 historical deaths from its actions in Syria and Iraq during 2017-18. The 22-page Annual Report […]
7181
6 Feb, 2020
Policy
Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria

Dutch F-16 pilots break their silence on airstrikes and civilian harm

  “After a few months, it turned out that it had indeed been a wrong target. An error had been made in the intelligence process. Instead of being an ISIS target, it turned out to just be a house. A mix-up in targets. You think: shit, it’s not possible, is it? I felt sick when […]
60904
2 May, 2019
Update
Afghanistan, Somalia

Pentagon report: 120 civilians killed in operations abroad

American military operations killed 120 civilians in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Somalia last year, according to a report released by the Pentagon today. The report, mandated by Congress, contains a detailed breakdown of the incidents that led to the civilian casualties, including where and when these took place. This differs from last year’s release which […]
60932
2 May, 2018
Update
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

US mulls more secrecy on drones

The Trump administration is considering overturning a key Obama-era policy which sought to make counter-terrorism operations more transparent, even as it ramps them up. The announcement, given to the Bureau by the US National Security Council late on Tuesday night, offers one of the clearest indications yet of the administration’s differing stance of transparency in […]
60940
19 Jan, 2018
Update
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

Trump’s first year in numbers: Strikes triple in Yemen and Somalia

President Donald Trump launched at least 161 strikes in Yemen and Somalia during his first year in office, the Bureau’s latest figures show – more than triple the number carried out the year before. This means there were over 100 times more strikes in Yemen and more than 30 times as many strikes in Somalia […]
60943
19 Dec, 2017
Update
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

US counter terror air strikes double in Trump’s first year

The number of US air strikes jumped in Yemen and Somalia in 2017, pointing to an escalation of the global war on terror. President Donald Trump inherited the framework allowing US aircraft to hit suspected terrorists outside of declared battlefields from his predecessor, Barack Obama. Bar some tinkering, his administration has largely stuck within the framework set […]
60978
6 Sep, 2017
Update
Afghanistan, Somalia

US investigates civilian deaths in Afghanistan and Somalia

The US military is investigating allegations that two separate operations involving American troops killed at least 22 civilians in the space of a week.  The US military has confirmed it supported a Somali operation during which 10 civilians, including three young children, were reportedly shot dead. Reports suggest the raid targeted a farm in Bariire […]
61025
20 Jan, 2017
Update
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

White House releases annual counterterrorism CIVCAS figures

The outgoing Obama administration said on Thursday the US had conducted 53 strikes outside areas of active hostilities in 2016, killing one non-combatant. This contrasts slightly with reports collated by the Bureau – we recorded 49 counter-terrorism strikes in Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan in 2016, killing four to six civilians. The White House began publishing casualty […]
61075
1 Dec, 2015
Update
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

US drone war, November 2015: American troops in Afghanistan and Somalia supported by new strikes

Gen John Campbell, top US military officer in Afghanistan, admits human error behind the destruction of a hospital on October 3. US strikes continued in Afghanistan and Somalia last month. Strikes in both countries were carried out to counter a threat to US forces on the ground. There were no attacks reported in Pakistan, where the Pakistan […]
61077
2 Nov, 2015
Update
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

At least 80 US airstrikes hit Afghanistan in October: The White House’s covert drone and air war – monthly update

On October 3 a US airstrike destroyed MSF’s hospital in Kunduz, northern Afghanistan (Photo: Victor Blue/MSF)   Scores of US air and drone strikes hit Afghanistan in October as the country’s military and police continued struggling to control the resurgent Taliban. While at least 80 strikes reportedly hit Afghanistan, the CIA’s drone strikes stopped at […]
61083
5 Oct, 2015
Update
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

Monthly drone report: Total drone strikes under Obama in Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen now 491 after September attacks

A US Air Force Reaper in Afghanistan (Photo: US Air Force) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY i. Key points: CIA and Pakistan Air Force drones hit Pakistan’s tribal areas US strikes continue in Yemen as the civil war rages Al Shabaab continue to kill peacekeepers and civilians in Somalia The three drone strikes in Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen in […]
61089
2 Sep, 2015
Update
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

Monthly drone report, August 2015: 32 US strikes hit Afghanistan alone

A US Reaper taxis at Creech airbase in Nevada, USA (US Air Force photo by Senior Airman Larry E Reid Jr) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY i. Key points: US actions continue in Afghanistan, eight months after combat operations officially ended. American drones continue to kill alleged AQAP fighters as Yemen’s civil war rages. The first strike in […]
61091
3 Aug, 2015
Update
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

US drone wars in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia: Monthly report, July 2015

African Union peacekeepers liberated towns from al Shabaab control last month, with US air support (AU UN IST PHOTO/Tobin Jones taken in 2014) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY i. Key points: As many strikes hit Afghanistan in July (17) as in January to June combined No strikes hit Pakistan for the second calendar month this year, now 56 […]
61095
1 Jul, 2015
Update
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

Drone war report, January – June 2015: controversial ‘signature strikes’ hit Yemen and Pakistan

President Barack Obama publicly acknowledged a specific drone strike in Pakistan, an unprecedented step. He apologized for killing American Warren Weinstein and Italian Giovanni Lo Porto, two al Qaeda hostages, in a signature strike in Pakistan (Photo: White House) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY i. Key points: Signature strikes return to Pakistan and Yemen. First confirmed civilian casualties […]
61097
19 Jun, 2015
Update
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

Podcast: deaths of 38 Westerners in US drone strikes raises serious questions for US allies

Rammstein in Germany is a key hub for US drone operations, including those that killed German citizens (Flickr/US Army Corps of Engineers) US drones have killed at least 38 Westerners since 2002 – most from some of America’s closest allies, raising serious questions for those governments about how much they knew and how much they helped with […]