Impossible standards: An analysis of the US military’s Baghdadi raid review
On the night of October 26, 2019 the US military carried out an operation against ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi in Syria. Local journalists reported the deaths of at least five civilians in the raid. Alongside Baghdadi’s family members and ISIS operatives within the compound, three civilians were reported harmed while passing by the
“This is not a small mistake”
Annual report 2022
Airwars annual report for May 2022-May 2023. The report outlines key highlights from the organisation’s research, investigations and advocacy departments over the time period, as well as strategic objectives and basic financial details. It includes a foreword by Airwars’ director Emily Tripp, who took over at the beginning of the time period, and is designed
UK airstrikes that harmed militants in Iraq and Syria 2014–2021
US airstrikes fell to historic low in 2022, despite fresh operations
In the second year of President Joe Biden’s administration, the number of US airstrikes fell to an historic low as some military engagements appeared to take a different form — with the redeployment of US forces to Somalia and a shift towards targeted raids on Islamic State figures in Syria. The overall number of declared
Mapping urban warfare
These maps are the first in a series of visualisations Airwars is presenting ahead of a new political declaration that calls on states to better protect civilians from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. By matching neighbourhood population density – which also usually coincides with high levels of civilian infrastructure – with Airwars’
The Credibles
Following more than three years of extensive engagement with US military officials, Airwars has secured the precise locations of all but four of the 344 publicly confirmed (‘Credible’) Coalition civilian harm events in the war against ISIS in both Iraq and Syria, which between them represent the great majority of at least 1,410 conceded civilian deaths according to CJTFOIR
US-led Coalition air strikes on ISIS in Iraq & Syria, 2014-2018
Between August 8th 2014 and December 16th 2018, the US-led Coalition declared the dates and nearest large population centres for 30,801 air and artillery strikes in Iraq and Syria against so-called Islamic State. Airwars has tracked and mapped every known strike. Despite hundreds more later actions, the Coalition stopped publicly reporting where or when it was bombing.
Coalition air-released munitions in Iraq and Syria 2014-2020
The graph models official data from Air Force Central Command (AFCENT) which reflects air-released munitions by the international allies during the war against so-called Islamic State. It does not include artillery or rocket strikes. In March 2020, AFCENT signalled an end to the release of this data.
Declared US-led Coalition air and artillery strikes in Iraq and Syria
The term strike refers both to air and artillery actions. Please note that according to the US-led Coalition against ISIS, a single strike might at times involve multiple aircraft, munitions released and locations.
Reported civilian deaths from US-led Coalition strikes in Iraq and Syria
Due to large variations in the quality of reporting, Airwars provisionally grades allegations of civilian harm using a standardised methodology across all belligerents and conflicts. The five categories are explained in full on our Methodology page. Individual events are recorded in the Civilian Casualties pages.
Pentagon annual report admits 12 deaths resulting from US actions in 2021
The Pentagon’s annual report to Congress, released yesterday, on civilian deaths and injuries resulting from US military actions in Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq and Syria has declared responsibility for 12 deaths and five injuries in 2021. All 12 deaths conceded were in Afghanistan; injuries were reported resulting from actions in both Somalia and Afghanistan. While these
Civilian Deaths by US President in Iraq and Syria
The United States and its 13 kinetic allies – part of an international alliance usually known as the Coalition – began an extensive air and artillery campaign against so-called Islamic State in August 2014, after the terror group had occupied large parts of of Iraq and Syria. By the end of President Trump’s term in
Declared strikes by US President in Iraq and Syria
The United States and its 13 kinetic allies – part of an international alliance usually known as the Coalition – began an extensive campaign against so-called Islamic State in August 2014, after the terror group had occupied large parts of of Iraq and Syria. By the end of President Trump’s term in office in 2021,
US-led Coalition in Iraq and Syria Casualty Map
Following the capture of much of northern Iraq and eastern Syria by so-called Islamic State – and atrocities committed by the terror group against local populations – an international Coalition led by the United States began military actions against ISIS in August 2014, in partnership with local forces. An intense air and ground campaign over
The US has quietly restarted admitting killing civilians in Iraq and Syria
The US-led International Coalition has quietly admitted to killing 18 more civilians in Iraq and Syria and injuring a further 11, its first such public concession in eight months. On March 10th, Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) – the US-led coalition against the so-called Islamic State – quietly released on its website its first public civilian
How do the ‘forever wars’ look under President Biden?
There has been much speculation in recent weeks about what President Biden’s first year in office shows us about his foreign policy – and in particular whether he is ending 20 years of America’s so-called ‘forever wars’. As 2021 nears its end, Airwars reached out to US combatant commands to request strike data for conflicts.
International war against ISIS enters its eighth year
This article was originally published by The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft on August 8th 2021. For the little media coverage it receives these days, you might be forgiven for believing the US-led coalition’s war in Syria and Iraq to be over. Osama Al-Hamid’s family knows better. Last month, the young boy died during reported
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
Seeing through the rubble: Airwars and PAX launch joint report
Airwars and PAX have published a new joint report, Seeing Through The Rubble, examining the dire and long-lasting effects of explosive weapons on civilian populations in urban areas in recent international military campaigns in Mosul, Raqqa and Hawijah. The report calls upon States to develop and support an international political declaration to better protect civilians against
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
Credibility Gap – UK civilian harm assessments for the battles of Mosul and Raqqa
As part of its Inquiry into British military actions at Mosul and Raqqa, the UK Parliament’s Defence Select Committee issued a request for submissions from interested parties. Along with several other NGOs, Airwars submitted a detailed report looking into UK actions in the war against so-called Islamic State, and the broader issue of civilian harm.