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

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3 Oct, 2015
Update

Military reports – October 2015

Monthly summary: Below are all known daily coalition military reports relating to the air war against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria for October 2015. We have also included relevant video and photo releases, as well as indicating where alleged civilian or ‘friendly fire’ casualties have been reported. October 1st-2nd 2015 Iraq 20 strikes (4,606-4,625) Syria […]
30 Sep, 2015
Update

‘Not one civilian killed’: UK insists Iraq airstrikes are perfect after first year of bombing

British manned and unmanned aicraft have carried out at least 324 airstrikes against Islamic State in their first year of operations, according to an Airwars assessment of Ministry of Defence reports. The attacks – second only to the United States in number – have killed hundreds of Daesh fighters, the MoD says. Officials also insist […]
30 Sep, 2015
Update

‘Not one civilian killed’: UK insists Iraq airstrikes are perfect after first year of bombing

British manned and unmanned aicraft have carried out at least 324 airstrikes against Islamic State in their first year of operations, according to an Airwars assessment of Ministry of Defence reports. The attacks – second only to the United States in number – have killed hundreds of Daesh fighters, the MoD says. Officials also insist […]
18 Sep, 2015
Update

By order of the President of the Republic: a year of France’s Operation Chammal

France became the first international partner to join the United States in its air war against Daesh back in September 2014.  Airwars reports on a year of action – as France insists its aircraft have not killed any civilians in more than 200 airstrikes.  France’s Opération Chammal – named after the Arabic word for ‘wind from the North’ – […]
18 Sep, 2015
Update

By order of the President of the Republic: a year of France’s Operation Chammal

France became the first international partner to join the United States in its air war against Daesh back in September 2014.  Airwars reports on a year of action – as France insists its aircraft have not killed any civilians in more than 200 airstrikes.  France’s Opération Chammal – named after the Arabic word for ‘wind from the North’ – […]
15 Sep, 2015
Update

Coalition strikes and civilian casualty claims in Iraq and Syria: August 2015

Major Developments 6.548 Coalition airstrikes had been carried out to the end of August 2015 according to an Airwars count. Of these, 62% targeted Daesh in Iraq (4,080 strikes) with 2,468 airstrikes in Syria In total, Coalition aircraft had dropped 22,478 bombs and missiles on Iraq and Syria to August 31st Airwars recorded 12 new alleged civilian […]
15 Sep, 2015
Research

Coalition strikes and civilian casualty claims in Iraq and Syria: August 2015

Major Developments 6.548 Coalition airstrikes had been carried out to the end of August 2015 according to an Airwars count. Of these, 62% targeted Daesh in Iraq (4,080 strikes) with 2,468 airstrikes in Syria In total, Coalition aircraft had dropped 22,478 bombs and missiles on Iraq and Syria to August 31st Airwars recorded 12 new alleged civilian […]
3 Sep, 2015
Update

Military reports – September 2015

Monthly summary: Below are all known daily coalition military reports relating to the air war against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria for September 2015. We have also included relevant video and photo releases, as well as indicating where alleged civilian or ‘friendly fire’ casualties have been reported. September 1st-2nd 2015 Iraq 8 strikes (4,081-4,088) Syria […]
3 Sep, 2015
Update

Canadian, Australian, Dutch and French aircraft linked to possible civilian casualties, CENTCOM file reveals

Additional reporting by Kinda Haddad and Latif Habib A newly-declassified CENTCOM document – published by Airwars and international media partners for the first time today –  reveals that by early May of this year, the anti-ISIL Coalition had already internally investigated dozens of events involving at least 325 possible civilian deaths from airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. Yet despite often significant published evidence of civilians […]
3 Sep, 2015
Update

Canadian, Australian, Dutch and French aircraft linked to possible civilian casualties, CENTCOM file reveals

Additional reporting by Kinda Haddad and Latif Habib A newly-declassified CENTCOM document – published by Airwars and international media partners for the first time today –  reveals that by early May of this year, the anti-ISIL Coalition had already internally investigated dozens of events involving at least 325 possible civilian deaths from airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. Yet despite often significant published evidence of civilians […]
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 […]
10 Aug, 2015
Update

First year of Coalition airstrikes helped stall Islamic State – but at a cost

IMAGE: An F/A-18 Super Hornet launches from USS Carl Vinson, October 2014 (US Navy/ Alex King) At 1.45pm local time on August 8th 2014, the United States began airstrikes against Islamic State (Daesh), after the terror group had overrun much of northern Iraq and begun massacring non-Sunnis. Six weeks later that air war was expanded to Syria, […]
10 Aug, 2015
Update

First year of Coalition airstrikes helped stall Islamic State – but at a cost

IMAGE: An F/A-18 Super Hornet launches from USS Carl Vinson, October 2014 (US Navy/ Alex King) At 1.45pm local time on August 8th 2014, the United States began airstrikes against Islamic State (Daesh), after the terror group had overrun much of northern Iraq and begun massacring non-Sunnis. Six weeks later that air war was expanded to Syria, […]
3 Aug, 2015
Update

Hundreds of civilians credibly reported killed in first year of Coalition airstrikes, Airwars study finds

ABOVE: Scene of a devastating Coalition strike at Hawijah, Iraq on June 3rd 2015 which reportedly killed up to 70 civilians (via Iraqi Spring) A six-month investigation into alleged civilian and ‘friendly fire’ deaths from Coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria has identified more than 120 incidents of concern to June 30th according to an Airwars report published […]
3 Aug, 2015
Update

Hundreds of civilians credibly reported killed in first year of Coalition airstrikes, Airwars study finds

ABOVE: Scene of a devastating Coalition strike at Hawijah, Iraq on June 3rd 2015 which reportedly killed up to 70 civilians (via Iraqi Spring) A six-month investigation into alleged civilian and ‘friendly fire’ deaths from Coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria has identified more than 120 incidents of concern to June 30th according to an Airwars report published […]
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 […]
3 Aug, 2015
Update

Military reports – August 2015

Monthly summary: Below are all known daily coalition military reports relating to the air war against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria for August 2015. We have also included relevant video and photo releases, as well as indicating where alleged civilian or ‘friendly fire’ casualties have been reported. August 1st-2nd 2015 Iraq 18 strikes (3,559-3,576) Syria 6 strikes […]
2 Aug, 2015
Update

Reports

Airwars issues occasional in-depth reports relating to our investigations into claims of civilian casualties from international airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. Downloadable in PDF format, our Creative Commons licence allows for the copying and distribution of text sections so long as they are clearly attributed to Airwars, and are used for non-commercial purposes. All photographs […]
1 Aug, 2015
Report

Cause for Concern – Hundreds of civilian non-combatants credibly reported killed in first year of Coalition airstrikes against Islamic State

Our first major report challenged claims by the US-led Coalition’s airstrikes against so-called Islamic State were not harming civilians. As we noted at the time, “Efforts to limit the risk to civilians on the ground continue to be hampered by an absence of effective transparency and accountability from almost all Coalition members. It is unacceptable […]
24 Jul, 2015
Update

Coalition strikes and civilian casualty claims in Iraq and Syria: July 10th-24th 2015

ABOVE: General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, takes questions during a ‘town hall’ session in Baghdad July 18th (US Army/ Spc. Tristan D. Bolden) Additional reporting by Basile Simon, Kinda Haddad and Latif Habib Major Developments  In the two weeks since our last report, the Coalition has carried out 246 new airstrikes in […]
24 Jul, 2015
Research

Coalition strikes and civilian casualty claims in Iraq and Syria: July 10th-24th 2015

ABOVE: General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, takes questions during a ‘town hall’ session in Baghdad July 18th (US Army/ Spc. Tristan D. Bolden) Additional reporting by Basile Simon, Kinda Haddad and Latif Habib Major Developments  In the two weeks since our last report, the Coalition has carried out 246 new airstrikes in […]
10 Jul, 2015
Update

Coalition strikes and civilian casualty claims in Iraq and Syria: July 3rd-10th 2015

ABOVE: Burnt out wreckage of a car carrying seven alleged Al Nusra Front members, destroyed in a US targeted strike in Syria July 8 2015 (via SNN) Additional reporting by Basile Simon, Kinda Haddad and Latif Habib. Major Developments Casualty recorders publish the name of a 200th alleged victim of coalition airstrikes in Syria. In Iraq, […]
10 Jul, 2015
Research

Coalition strikes and civilian casualty claims in Iraq and Syria: July 3rd-10th 2015

ABOVE: Burnt out wreckage of a car carrying seven alleged Al Nusra Front members, destroyed in a US targeted strike in Syria July 8 2015 (via SNN) Additional reporting by Basile Simon, Kinda Haddad and Latif Habib. Major Developments Casualty recorders publish the name of a 200th alleged victim of coalition airstrikes in Syria. In Iraq, […]
4 Jul, 2015
Update

Coalition airstrikes and reported casualties in Iraq and Syria: June 26th – July 3rd 2015

ABOVE: A bomb-laden Belgian F-16 prepares for a mission in Iraq, December 2014 (Belgian MoD)   Major Developments Belgium announces it has ended its military role in the coalition, withdrawing its F-16s after approximately 41 airstrikes 13 fresh problem events are reported for June in both Iraq and Syria, involving multiple civilian deaths allegedly caused by […]
4 Jul, 2015
Research

Coalition airstrikes and reported casualties in Iraq and Syria: June 26th – July 3rd 2015

ABOVE: A bomb-laden Belgian F-16 prepares for a mission in Iraq, December 2014 (Belgian MoD)   Major Developments Belgium announces it has ended its military role in the coalition, withdrawing its F-16s after approximately 41 airstrikes 13 fresh problem events are reported for June in both Iraq and Syria, involving multiple civilian deaths allegedly caused by […]
2 Jul, 2015
Update

Military reports – July 2015

Monthly summary: Below are all known daily coalition military reports relating to the air war against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria for July 2015. We have also included relevant video and photo releases, as well as indicating where alleged civilian or ‘friendly fire’ casualties have been reported. July 1st/2nd 2015 Iraq 18 strikes (3,041-3,058) […]
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 […]
23 Jun, 2015
Update

Coalition airstrikes and reported casualties in Iraq and Syria: June 19th-26th 2015

ABOVE: Delegates at the 29th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, June 22 2015, heard calls for coalition members to promptly investigate reports of civilian casualties (UN) Major Developments The coalition ends its 46th week of bombings having carried out 141 airstrikes on Islamic State. New UN report calls on international coalition […]
23 Jun, 2015
Research

Coalition airstrikes and reported casualties in Iraq and Syria: June 19th-26th 2015

ABOVE: Delegates at the 29th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, June 22 2015, heard calls for coalition members to promptly investigate reports of civilian casualties (UN) Major Developments The coalition ends its 46th week of bombings having carried out 141 airstrikes on Islamic State. New UN report calls on international coalition […]
21 Jun, 2015
Update

Coalition airstrikes and reported casualties in Iraq and Syria: June 12th-19th 2015

ABOVE: Residents of Tal Abyad region flee the fighting between Islamic State and YPG Kurds, June  2015 (SNN) Major Developments Coalition ends 45th week of bombings having carried out 4,673 airstrikes on Islamic State At least 6 and as many as 20 civilians were reported killed in a series of coalition airstrikes on June 13th, in support of […]