Update

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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) […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

ABOVE: Dutch MPs visit an Air Task Force facility, June 5 2015 (Dutch MoD) Major Developments New figures show coalition has now dropped more than 15,000 bombs and missiles on Iraq and Syria, in more than 4,500 airstrikes There were four new incidents reported in which it was claimed coalition aircraft may have caused civilian or […]

ABOVE: Scene of devastation at the town of al Hawijah near Kirkuk, Iraq after a US airstrike destroyed a Daesh IED factory Major Developments In single greatest claim of coalition-inflicted civilian deaths since August, up to 70 non-combatants are reported killed in an airstrike on Iraqi town of al-Hawijah Coalition denies it has seen evidence […]

John Brennan, the Director of the CIA since March 2013 Transferring control of the US drone programme away from the CIA could paradoxically result in less accountability, author and investigative journalist Chris Woods told this week’s Drone News. Since President Barack Obama announced in April that a CIA drone strike on an al Qaeda compound in […]

A US helicopter ferrying military advisers over Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, where US aircraft killed at least 34 this month (USAF) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY i. Key points: A Pew Research Center poll finds strong support in the US for drone strikes Three US strikes kill at least 34 in Afghanistan The US continues to bomb Yemen in […]

Monthly summary: Below are all known daily coalition military reports relating to the air war against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria for June 2015. We have also included relevant video and photo releases, as well as indicating where possible civilian or ‘friendly fire’ casualties may have occurred.   June 1st/2nd 2015 Iraq 10 strikes (2,642-2,651) Syria […]

ABOVE: Aftermath of a devastating explosion in Mosul May 21st 2015 which killed between 12-50 civilians according to reports (via Mosul Ateka) Major Developments Two new civilian casualty incidents are reported for the past week. The destruction of an ISIL arms dump in Mosul is said to kill 12-50 non-combatants. And in Syria, up to 10 female agricultural […]

Was lethal airstrike at Fadhiliya, Iraq aimed at Islamic State attacks in vicinity of nearby Canadian troops? Library image shows personnel departing for Iraq, November 2014 (Canadian MoD/ Cpl LS Eduardo Jorge) Nine months and 4,000 airstrikes into the international coalition’s air war against Islamic State, the US-led alliance has to date only conceded the “likely” non-combatant deaths of two […]

Was lethal airstrike at Fadhiliya, Iraq aimed at Islamic State attacks in vicinity of nearby Canadian troops? Library image shows personnel departing for Iraq, November 2014 (Canadian MoD/ Cpl LS Eduardo Jorge) Nine months and 4,000 airstrikes into the international coalition’s air war against Islamic State, the US-led alliance has to date only conceded the “likely” non-combatant deaths of two […]

Major developments After nine months of strikes the coalition finally admits its actions have killed civilians – confirming the “likely” death of at least two children in Syria A last-minute spate of Coalition airstrikes fails to prevent Islamic State from over-running the crucial city of Ramadi in Iraq The 4,000th airstrike since operations began in August […]

After more than 4,000 airstrikes by the international alliance over a nine month period, the US-led coalition has finally conceded that its actions have killed civilians. According to a statement issued by CENTCOM late on May 21st, an airstrike on the village of Harem near Aleppo six months previously had “likely led to the deaths of two non-combatant children.” According […]

After more than 4,000 airstrikes by the international alliance over a nine month period, the US-led coalition has finally conceded that its actions have killed civilians. According to a statement issued by CENTCOM late on May 21st, an airstrike on the village of Harem near Aleppo six months previously had “likely led to the deaths of two non-combatant children.” According […]

In the first 40 weeks of US-led military action against so-called Islamic State (Daesh), more than 3,800 airstrikes were carried out by a dozen international coalition members across both Iraq and Syria. Those strikes saw around 13,000 bombs and missiles dropped in an aerial war likely to continue for many more months, if not years. Civilian non-combatants already faced great risk on the […]

In the first 40 weeks of US-led military action against so-called Islamic State (Daesh), more than 3,800 airstrikes were carried out by a dozen international coalition members across both Iraq and Syria. Those strikes saw around 13,000 bombs and missiles dropped in an aerial war likely to continue for many more months, if not years. Civilian non-combatants already faced great risk on the […]