U.S. Central Command has added to its list of civilian casualties as a result of airstrikes against the Islamic State group.
CENTCOM on Friday disclosed the likely deaths of five civilians and eight injured between July 27 and Oct. 15, 2015 in four separate air strikes over Iraq and Syria, officials said in a statement.
The airstrikes are from the latest assessment are:
- On July 27, 2015, near Ash Sharqat, Iraq, during strikes against ISIS vehicles, it was assessed one civilian was injured.
- On Aug. 13, 2015, near Ar Raqqah, Syria, during strikes against Junaid Hussain, an ISIS cyber-operative, it was assessed three civilians in the vicinity of the strikes were killed and five more were injured
- On Sept. 24, 2015, near Sinjar, Iraq, during strikes against an ISIS vehicle, it was assessed two civilians were killed. An assessed enemy combatant on a motorcycle was targeted for engagement. Weapons were released while the target was stopped at an intersection; however, another vehicle approached after weapons were in flight. Both the motorcycle and the vehicle were destroyed.
- On Oct. 15, 2015, near Tal Afar, Iraq, during strikes against ISIS Sharia Judge Mullah Maysar, it was assessed two civilians were injured when the targeted vehicle veered into oncoming traffic.
Air Force Col. Patrick Ryder, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, acknowledged in a phone call with reporters last week that there are over a dozen open cases regarding allegations of civilian casualties.
"We operate in a dynamic environment, and unfortunately, we cannot guarantee zero civilian casualties in an armed conflict such as this one," Ryder said Jan. 22.
Five separate U.S. strikes under Operation Inherent Resolve between July 4 and July 17, 2015, "likely resulted in the death of two civilians and injuries to an additional four civilians," CENTCOM said last Friday.
The command in a previous assessment on Jan. 15 also disclosed Operation Inherent Resolve airstrikes likely killed eight civilians and injured three.
Oriana Pawlyk covers deployments, cyber, Guard/Reserve, uniforms, physical training, crime and operations in the Middle East, Europe and Pacific for Air Force Times. She was the Early Bird Brief editor in 2015. Email her at opawlyk@airforcetimes.com.
