“The US military killed 12 civilians in 2021, all in Afghanistan, according to a Pentagon report.” — Agence France Presse
Pentagon Releases Report
Detailing Civilian Casualties in 2021
Chris Gordon / Air and Space Forces Magazine
(September 27, 2022) — The Defense Department released its annual report on civilian casualties in 2021 on Sept. 27, the first such report since the department came under increased pressure to better mitigate the harm of US operations and assess their aftermath.
The report details 12 total deaths from US forces in “a declared theater of active armed conflict,” which the report defines as Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and Syria. All of the deaths occurred in Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. “DOD does not assess other US military operations in 2021 resulted in civilian casualties,” the report says, and only actions “attributed to the use of US-operated weapons” are listed.
Included are the 10 deaths on Aug. 29 from the case of mistaken identity that killed a family during America’s rushed withdrawal from Kabul. In addition, approximately five civilians were injured by American forces in 2021, two in Afghanistan and three in a Jan. 1 airstrike in Qunyo Barrow, Somalia. Three cases of potential civilian casualty incidents in 2021 in support of Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria “continue to be under assessment,” according to the report, which Congress has mandated since 2018.
The report details 10 deaths and 18 injuries from American strikes that occurred in Syria from 2018 to 2020 that previous annual reports did not account for. Information on one strike was the product of an independent review ordered by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III. That strike killed four civilians and injured 15 others in Baghuz, Syria, on March 18, 2019, according to the Pentagon. All incidents of civilian casualties detailed in the report came from airstrikes.
America’s use of airstrikes, especially in the counter-ISIS campaign in Iraq and Syria, have come under scrutiny. Reports have suggested that the US should do more to limit civilian casualties in some cases and that the Pentagon had a faulty system for investigating such cases. According to Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, more than 1,400 civilians have been inadvertently killed by the US-led coalition in Iraq and Syria. Some nongovernmental organizations have said the number is far higher.
Austin issued a directive Jan. 27 to review DOD practices to mitigate harm to civilians, including damage to infrastructure and resources.
On Aug. 25, the department released a Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan (CHMR-AP), which implements changes to how DOD judges the risk to civilians and how it assesses the aftermath of strikes.
“DoD’s efforts to mitigate and respond to civilian harm are a direct reflection of US values; doing so is a strategic and moral imperative,” the report says.
Comments
Donald S — The Pentagon report appears to be a whitewash, since it lists a total of just 12 civilian deaths for 2021.
Tarak Kauff — The Pentagon report on civilian casualties is so obviously bogus if it wasn’t concerning such a horrific reality of US war-making — the massive killing and destruction of civilians and infrastructure needed for human life — it would be laughable.
Monthly Civilian Casualty Report
Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve
SOUTHWEST ASIA (July 09, 2021) – Since the beginning of operations in 2014, the Coalition and partner forces have liberated nearly 110,000 square kilometers (42,471 square miles) from Daesh, eliminating their self-proclaimed territorial caliphate and freeing 7.7 million people from Daesh oppression. The Coalition will continue to work with partner forces to deny Daesh any physical space and influence in the region as well as deny Daesh the resources they need to resurge.
The Coalition conducted 34,984 strikes between August 2014 and the end of May 2021. During this period, based on information available, CJTF-OIR assesses at least 1,417 civilians have been unintentionally killed by Coalition actions since the beginning of Operation Inherent Resolve.
We follow a rigid targeting process for all of our strikes to ensure strict adherence to the Law of Armed Conflict while attempting to avoid collateral damage. Every accidental loss of life is tragic, and it will remain our goal to take all feasible precautions to avoid putting civilians in danger in our pursuit of a ruthless enemy.
In the month of May, CJTF-OIR carried over 110 open reports from previous months and received one new report. CJTF-OIR completed five civilian-casualty allegation assessment reports. Out of the five completed casualty allegation reports, one report was determined to be credible and resulted in seven unintentional civilian deaths. CJTF-OIR assessed the remaining four reports as non-credible. 106 reports are still open, including one that CJTF-OIR had previously closed but reopened due to the availability of new information.
The results of each investigation of an allegation will fall into one of two categories, either “credible” or “non-credible.” An assessment of “credible” means that our team investigated the allegation and determined that, based on available evidence, more likely than not, the death was the result of Coalition action.
A “non-credible” evaluation means that the information we have to assess the allegation, using our available resources, cannot determine, to the standard of “more likely than not”, that the death was the result of Coalition action. There could be a number of reasons for this, to include no corroborating strikes at that time or that location, there was insufficient evidence to support the allegation, or there is simply insufficient or overly vague data in the allegation itself.
It is important to note that while the Coalition has a substantial quantity of data at its disposal to investigate every claim, we welcome any information from any source that will enable us to determine the truth. Furthermore, we routinely reopen closed investigations based on new information that might help us attain more accurate results.
Credible Reports:
In the one incident assessed as credible in May, the investigations assessed that the CJTF-OIR took all feasible precautions, and the decision to strike complied with the law of armed conflict. Coalition forces work diligently to be precise during the planning and execution of strikes to reduce the risk of harm to civilians. Numeric Key: [CJTF-OIR Allegation Number] / [Non-Governmental Organization Allegation Number] [Grid Coordinate]. The Military Grid Reference System coordinates specified in these reports are derived from the general location of the strike area.
- Aug.7, 2016, near Al Tanak Oilfields, Syria, via Airwars report. United States aircraft conducted multiple strikes against a Daesh facility. Regrettably, seven civilian were unintentionally killed and two others unintentionally wounded as a result of the strike. 3025/CS289 37SFU677647
Non-Credible Reports:
After a thorough review of the facts and circumstances of each civilian casualty report, CJTF-OIR assessed the following four reports as non-credible. At this time there is insufficient information to assess that, more likely than not, a Coalition action resulted in civilian casualties. Numeric Key: [CJTF-OIR Allegation Number] / [Non-Governmental Organization Allegation Number] [Grid Coordinate]. The Military Grid Reference System coordinates specified in these reports are derived from the original allegation source.
- 27, 2018, near al Shaafa, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was determined that, more likely than not, civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition action. 3211/CS1817 37SFU774280
- 3, 2019, near al Shaafa, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review ofall available records, it was determined that, more likely than not, civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition action. 2651/CS1880 37SFU775320
- 18, 2019, near al Baghouz, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties.
2679/CS1912 37SFU794135 - May 4, 2021, near Deir Ezzor, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties.
3296/CS1958 37SFV002107
Airstrikes in Yemen killed 68 civilians in a single day.
Open Reports:
CJTF-OIR is still assessing 106 reports of civilian casualties.
[Note: The document lists 106 separate reports from Syria and Iraq (mostly from AirWar.com and Human Rights Watch) from August 24, 2015 to December 20, 2020.]
