Six US air strikes against al-Qaeda and Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria killed 14 civilians and injured another between July 28 last year and April 29th, the US military said yesterday.
The strikes took place against Khorasan Group, an al-Qaeda offshoot in Syria, and Islamic State facilities and vehicles in Iraq, it said.
“We deeply regret the unintentional loss of life and injuries resulting from our airstrikes and express our sympathies to those affected,” said a statement from US Central Command.
The US military has in the past made similar disclosures of civilian deaths in its air strikes in Iraq and Syria, and the disclosures typically follow investigations to determine the veracity of reports of civilian deaths.
Thursday’s report said that in one instance, three civilians were killed in a strike on July 28th, 2015 when their vehicle appeared in the target area after the plane had already fired its weapon.
Reuters