Research

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

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182 posts
airwars.org ↗
18 Jun, 2025
Investigations, Policy

The U.S. killed almost as many civilians in 52 days as the previous 23 years of U.S. action in Yemen

How does Trump’s eight-week bombing campaign compare to the history of U.S. military action in Yemen?
airwars.org ↗
3 Apr, 2025
Investigations, Policy

What the chats signal about Trump’s Yemen bombing campaign

Ignore the leaked messages - Trump's campaign is far more deadly than Biden's
3 Jul, 2023
Policy
Syria

Airwars joins call for a robust and transparent investigation in response to recent US strike in Syria

Coalition of rights groups demands Pentagon accountability after strike on 'Al-Qaeda leader' kills Syrian farmer
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
26 Aug, 2022
Policy

United States new Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan cautiously welcomed by civil society

Airwars joins our civil society partners in welcoming the publication of the much awaited Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan (CHMR-AP), released yesterday by the US Department of Defense. The CHMR-AP reflects a years-long process of sustained pressure by individuals, civil society, journalists, activists and legislators to challenge the way the US military conducts […]
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?
10 Aug, 2021
Investigations
Iraq, Syria

Pentagon wrongly admitted to killing 21 civilians in Iraq and Syria slain by allies

Allied nations almost certainly killed them. So why did the Defense Department tell Congress that the US was responsible?
2 Mar, 2021
Investigations, Policy
Yemen

US military blames “administrative mistake” after forgetting its troops killed Yemeni civilians

The US military has blamed an “administrative mistake” after conceding it forgot its own admission of the killing of up to 12 civilians during a raid on a Yemeni village in early 2017. Details of the admission feature in the Airwars annual report for 2020 which published March 2nd. The US military led a raid […]
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 […]
2 Mar, 2021
Report

Annual report – 2020/21

Tracking by Airwars across multiple conflicts during 2020 showed 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. This suggested a possible ‘Covid effect’ – a significant […]
18 Nov, 2020
Investigations, Policy
Iraq, Syria

The Credibles: How Airwars secured the most comprehensive locational data on civilian harm ever released by the US military

The release is a major breakthrough in transparency and could help Iraqis and Syrians finally secure apologies and even reparations for the death of family members
28 Oct, 2020
Report, Research
Yemen

Trump in Yemen: New Airwars study shines light on opaque campaign

A new Airwars investigation into the ongoing US counterterrorism campaign in Yemen has identified at least 86 civilians likely killed by US actions during Donald Trump’s presidency – though the US military has admitted to no more than a dozen deaths. Eroding Transparency, researched and written by Mohammed al-Jumaily and Edward Ray, examines US air […]
28 Oct, 2020
Policy, Report

Eroding Transparency: Trump in Yemen

Accompanying the launch of Airwars’ new public database tracking US counterterrorism actions in Yemen, Eroding Transparency provides a comprehensive review of more than 230 alleged and confirmed US actions and associated civilian harm under President Donald Trump. Drawing on thousands of local sources – the majority in Arabic – the report reveals that at least […]
25 Aug, 2020
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – July 2020

Major Conflict Monitoring July 2020 saw a continuation of a trend observed the month before, with foreign action in Syria slowly increasing, particularly by Russia. Meanwhile, the US-led Coalition continued its operations against both ISIS and Iranian-backed groups in Syria, though at a seemingly lower intensity. In Iraq, ISIS’s insurgency had slightly increased in tempo, […]
5 Jun, 2020
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – April 2020

Conflict in Libya ramps up as sense of calm presides over Syria and Iraq.
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 […]
5 May, 2020
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – March 2020

Fighting grinds to a halt in Idlib following ceasefire, but civilian harm incidents reported in other parts of Syria, Libya and Somalia.
16 Apr, 2020
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – February 2020

February 2020 saw up to 226 civilians killed in Syria as a result of Russian airstrikes and 404 more injured - as the regime continued to push through Idlib and Aleppo.
24 Mar, 2020
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – January 2020

January 2020 saw a 15% rise in Russia civilian harm events as the regime and its ally pounded rebel-held territory in Idlib and Aleppo.
23 Dec, 2019
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – November 2019

November 2019 saw a quadrupling in civilian harm claims against Russia and the regime in Syria
19 Dec, 2019
Update
Iraq, Syria

Dutch defence ministry publishes incorrect statement on civilian deaths, hours before key parliamentary debate

The Netherlands Ministry of Defence (Defensie) has provided an inaccurate statement to both MPs and the media, Airwars analysis indicates – on the eve of a critical parliamentary debate on the deaths of scores of civilians in Iraq which had resulted from a Dutch airstrike in 2015. Credible reports at the time had indicated that […]
10 Dec, 2019
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – October 2019

More than 200 civilians were locally alleged killed by Turkish and Kurdish military actions in Syria during October. Civilian deaths were also significantly up in Libya.
25 Nov, 2019
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – September 2019

During September 2019 reported civilian harm from military actions was down in both Syria and Libya.
30 Sep, 2019
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – August 2019

More than 200 civilians were locally alleged killed by Russia in Syria during August - with concerns too about Coalition counter terror raids.
30 Aug, 2019
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – July 2019

As many as 432 civilians were claimed killed by Russian forces in Syria during July - as the bombardment of Idlib and Hama governorates intensified.
1 May, 2019
Update
Iraq, Syria

France’s war without accountability

On May 16th 2017, Sajid Ahmed Sajid and his brother Amer Ahmad Sajid, two men in their fifties and each with a salt and pepper beard, were killed by a bomb that struck their house in the well-to-do neighbourhood of Al-Najjar in West Mosul, according to locals and local media. The Coalition’s public account of […]
5 Jun, 2018
Update

Amnesty says US-led Coalition likely violated international law at Raqqa

Investigators traveled to Raqqa and spoke with more than 100 witnesses and victims, with their report highlighting the deaths of dozens of members of just four families.
5 Jun, 2018
Update
Iraq, Syria

Amnesty says US-led Coalition likely violated international law at Raqqa

Investigators traveled to Raqqa and spoke with more than 100 witnesses and victims, with their report highlighting the deaths of dozens of members of just four families.
5 Apr, 2018
Update
Iraq, Syria

Counting the dead in Mosul

Thousands of civilians were killed during the battle for Mosul, but there is no official death toll.
5 Apr, 2018
Update

Counting the dead in Mosul

Thousands of civilians were killed during the battle for Mosul, but there is no official death toll.