Research

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

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20 Oct, 2016
Update

Russian spat with Belgium over civilian deaths highlights chaos of Syrian skies

Research by Eline Westra and Kinda Haddad Russia has implied that a member of the US-led Coalition killed six civilians in rural Aleppo province on October 17th – a claim which drew a furious rebuttal from Belgium’s defence minister, who complained of “Russian disinformation.” The spat comes as a Moscow-declared pause appeared to be respected […]
10 Oct, 2016
Update

Airwars boosts its monitoring, reporting and advocacy team

Responding to a steep rise in reported civilian deaths from both Coalition and Russian airstrikes in 2016, Airwars has appointed three new full-time postholders who will help with the organisation’s monitoring, reporting and advocacy work. The trio are New York based investigative reporter Samuel Oakford; UK-based Syria researcher Abdulwahab Tahhan; and Eline Westra, an Amsterdam-based […]
10 Oct, 2016
Update

Airwars boosts its monitoring, reporting and advocacy team

Responding to a steep rise in reported civilian deaths from both Coalition and Russian airstrikes in 2016, Airwars has appointed three new full-time postholders who will help with the organisation’s monitoring, reporting and advocacy work. The trio are New York based investigative reporter Samuel Oakford; UK-based Syria researcher Abdulwahab Tahhan; and Eline Westra, an Amsterdam-based […]
26 Sep, 2016
Update

Reported civilian casualties from Russian airstrikes in Syria: January 2016

Additional research by Kinda Haddad, F.F. Khalil, Christiaan Triebert and Chris Woods Between January 1st and 31st 2016, a total of 177 reported civilian casualty incidents in Syria allegedly involving Russian aircraft have been tracked by our researchers. These allege between them an overall total of between 1,006 and 1,410 non-combatant deaths. Each event is […]
26 Sep, 2016
Research

Reported civilian casualties from Russian airstrikes in Syria: January 2016

Between January 1st and 31st 2016, a total of 177 reported civilian casualty incidents in Syria allegedly involving Russian aircraft have been tracked by our researchers. These allege between them an overall total of between 1,006 and 1,410 non-combatant deaths. Each event is individually recorded in our new 50,000-word public database for January 2016. Claims […]
23 Sep, 2016
Research

International airstrikes and civilian casualty claims in Iraq and Syria: August 2016

August saw the second anniversary of the war against so-called Islamic State, with the terrorist group losing significant ground on multiple fronts. The Coalition campaign to liberate Manbij in Aleppo concluded with Daesh being driven out of the northern Syrian town. This led to a steep drop in Coalition airstrikes and reported civilian casualty events, […]
23 Sep, 2016
Update

International airstrikes and civilian casualty claims in Iraq and Syria: August 2016

Additional research by Kinda Haddad, Latif Habib, Abdulwahab Tahhan, Ziad Freeman, Basile Simon, Christiaan Triebert and Chris Woods August saw the second anniversary of the war against so-called Islamic State, with the terrorist group losing significant ground on multiple fronts. The Coalition campaign to liberate Manbij in Aleppo concluded with Daesh being driven out of […]
22 Aug, 2016
Research

International airstrikes and civilian casualty claims in Iraq and Syria: July 2016

In July the Coalition campaign to liberate the northern Syrian town of Manbij in Aleppo built towards a fierce conclusion. Daesh continued to lose ground, but the effect on civilian casualties was significant. We tracked the greatest number of alleged deaths and incidents in any given month since the war began two years ago – […]
22 Aug, 2016
Update

International airstrikes and civilian casualty claims in Iraq and Syria: July 2016

Additional research by Kinda Haddad, Latif Habib, Abdulwahab Tahhan, Ziad Freeman, Basile Simon, Christiaan Triebert and Chris Woods In July the Coalition campaign to liberate the northern Syrian town of Manbij in Aleppo built towards a fierce conclusion. Daesh continued to lose ground, but the effect on civilian casualties was significant. We tracked the greatest […]
8 Aug, 2016
Update

Second anniversary of Coalition war sees ISIL under pressure – but civilians at greater risk

Research by Latif Habib, Kinda Haddad, Alex Hopkins, Basile Simon and Christiaan Triebert The US-led Coalition enters the third year of its war against so-called Islamic State having already conducted more than 14,300 airstrikes against the terror group – and with thousands of ground forces also now committed. ISIL is under significant pressure on multiple […]
8 Aug, 2016
Update

Second anniversary of Coalition war sees ISIL under pressure – but civilians at greater risk

Research by Latif Habib, Kinda Haddad, Alex Hopkins, Basile Simon and Christiaan Triebert The US-led Coalition enters the third year of its war against so-called Islamic State having already conducted more than 14,300 airstrikes against the terror group – and with thousands of ground forces also now committed. ISIL is under significant pressure on multiple […]
28 Jul, 2016
Update

CENTCOM confirms 14 new civilian deaths in ISIL war

Research by Latif Habib and Kinda Haddad CENTCOM has conceded 14 additional civilian deaths from US military actions in the war against so-called Islamic State, in both Iraq and Syria. The admission brings to 55 the official tally of civilian dead, from more than 10,700 declared US airstrikes. The newly-admitted deaths relate to six events between July 2015 […]
28 Jul, 2016
Update

CENTCOM confirms 14 new civilian deaths in ISIL war

Research by Latif Habib and Kinda Haddad CENTCOM has conceded 14 additional civilian deaths from US military actions in the war against so-called Islamic State, in both Iraq and Syria. The admission brings to 55 the official tally of civilian dead, from more than 10,700 declared US airstrikes. The newly-admitted deaths relate to six events between July 2015 […]
22 Jul, 2016
Research

International airstrikes and civilian casualty claims in Iraq and Syria: June 2016

Daesh lost significant ground in June, with the liberation of Fallujah in Iraq and the ongoing battle for Manbij in Syria. However, this led to a steep rise in alleged civilian casualties involving the Coalition in both countries – while in Syria, we saw a quadrupling of the number of civilian casualty events reportedly involving […]
22 Jul, 2016
Update

International airstrikes and civilian casualty claims in Iraq and Syria: June 2016

Additional research by Kinda Haddad, Latif Habib, Basile Simon, Christiaan Triebert and Chris Woods Daesh lost significant ground in June, with the liberation of Fallujah in Iraq and the ongoing battle for Manbij in Syria. However, this led to a steep rise in alleged civilian casualties involving the Coalition in both countries – while in […]
19 Jul, 2016
Update

Coalition-backed Manbij assault has killed hundreds of civilians, warn locals

Research by Kinda Haddad A major Coalition-backed campaign to liberate the ISIL-occupied northern Syrian town of Manbij and surrounding villages has led to the deaths of hundreds of civilians, according to local reports. The Syrian Arab Coalition (SAC) – a proxy US-trained force comprising mostly Kurdish fighters – is currently advancing on the town centre […]
19 Jul, 2016
Update

Coalition-backed Manbij assault has killed hundreds of civilians, warn locals

Research by Kinda Haddad A major Coalition-backed campaign to liberate the ISIL-occupied northern Syrian town of Manbij and surrounding villages has led to the deaths of hundreds of civilians, according to local reports. The Syrian Arab Coalition (SAC) – a proxy US-trained force comprising mostly Kurdish fighters – is currently advancing on the town centre […]
17 Jun, 2016
Research

International airstrikes and civilian casualties in Iraq and Syria: December 2015 to May 2016

Airwars monthly reports on international airstrikes and alleged civilian casualties across both Iraq and Syria will resume for June . Here we present our summary findings for December 2015 to May 2016. Major Coalition military developments From December 1st 2015 to the end of May 2016, there were 4,087 reported Coalition airstrikes against Daesh: a […]
17 Jun, 2016
Update

International airstrikes and civilian casualties in Iraq and Syria: December 2015 to May 2016

Additional reporting by Kinda Haddad, Latif Habib and Chris Woods Airwars monthly reports on international airstrikes and alleged civilian casualties across both Iraq and Syria will resume for June . Here we present our summary findings for December 2015 to May 2016. Major Coalition military developments From December 1st 2015 to the end of May […]
22 Apr, 2016
Update

Two families likely among 20 new civilian deaths admitted by US in war against ISIL

In a doubling of previous estimates of civilians killed in its air war against so-called Islamic State, the US has confirmed that 20 more non-combatants are believed to have died and 11 injured in nine separate events between September 2015 and February 2016. Among those likely killed were two Iraqi families. On October 5th, US […]
22 Apr, 2016
Update

Two families likely among 20 new civilian deaths admitted by US in war against ISIL

In a doubling of previous estimates of civilians killed in its air war against so-called Islamic State, the US has confirmed that 20 more non-combatants are believed to have died and 11 injured in nine separate events between September 2015 and February 2016. Among those likely killed were two Iraqi families. On October 5th, US […]
9 Mar, 2016
Update

More than 1,000 civilians estimated killed in 18-month Coalition air war

Additional research by Kinda Haddad, Latif Habib, Alex Hopkins and Basile Simon Latest assessments suggest more than 1,000 civilians may now have died in 18 months of Coalition airstrikes across Iraq and Syria. The estimate is fifty times greater than the number of civilian deaths so far admitted by the US-led alliance. Airwars researchers have […]
9 Mar, 2016
Update

More than 1,000 civilians estimated killed in 18-month Coalition air war

Additional research by Kinda Haddad, Latif Habib, Alex Hopkins and Basile Simon Latest assessments suggest more than 1,000 civilians may now have died in 18 months of Coalition airstrikes across Iraq and Syria. The estimate is fifty times greater than the number of civilian deaths so far admitted by the US-led alliance. Airwars researchers have […]
22 Jan, 2016
Update

Fresh CENTCOM admissions reveal frequency of civilian casualties

The Pentagon has confirmed five additional casualty events from US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, which officials say between them killed two civilians while injuring a further four. Yet all of those described as injured by US officials actually died from their wounds according to the public record – with each victim named at the […]
22 Jan, 2016
Update

Fresh CENTCOM admissions reveal frequency of civilian casualties

The Pentagon has confirmed five additional casualty events from US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, which officials say between them killed two civilians while injuring a further four. Yet all of those described as injured by US officials actually died from their wounds according to the public record – with each victim named at the […]
15 Jan, 2016
Update

US admits five new civilian casualty cases in Iraq and Syria

The United States has conceded five fresh civilian casualty incidents in Iraq and Syria which between them killed eight or more non-combatants, it believes. Analysis suggests the actual toll from these five events is between 14 and 21 civilians killed, raising fresh questions about US and Coalition dependence upon aerial-only footage during post-strike investigations. Airwars […]
15 Jan, 2016
Update

US admits five new civilian casualty cases in Iraq and Syria

The United States has conceded five fresh civilian casualty incidents in Iraq and Syria which between them killed eight or more non-combatants, it believes. Analysis suggests the actual toll from these five events is between 14 and 21 civilians killed, raising fresh questions about US and Coalition dependence upon aerial-only footage during post-strike investigations. Airwars […]
21 Dec, 2015
Update

International airstrikes and civilian casualty claims in Iraq and Syria: November 2015

Additional reporting by Kinda Haddad and Latif Habib Major military developments November 2015 saw the greatest number of Coalition actions yet reported in the 16-month war, with 529 airstrikes in Iraq and 232 in Syria. Overall, a total of 5,638 air strikes had been carried out in Iraq, and 2,944 in Syria to the end […]
21 Dec, 2015
Research

International airstrikes and civilian casualty claims in Iraq and Syria: November 2015

Major military developments November 2015 saw the greatest number of Coalition actions yet reported in the 16-month war, with 529 airstrikes in Iraq and 232 in Syria. Overall, a total of 5,638 air strikes had been carried out in Iraq, and 2,944 in Syria to the end of the month. The 13 allies had between […]
23 Nov, 2015
Update

International airstrikes and civilian casualty claims in Iraq and Syria: October 2015

Additional reporting by Latif Habib, Kinda Haddad and Basile Simon Major developments The US-led Coalition ended October 2015 having carried out 5,107 airstrikes in Iraq and 2,712 in Syria so far in its 14-month air war against Daesh. Some 28,578 bombs and missiles had been dropped by 13 allies. There were 22 reported incidents of […]