Military efforts to debilitate ISIS have been underway for years, but an independent research group says that, since President Trump took office in January, the loss of civilian lives in Iraq and Syria has more than quadrupled.
Military efforts to debilitate ISIS have been underway for years, but an independent research group says that, since President Trump took office in January, the loss of civilian lives in Iraq and Syria has more than quadrupled.
The Daily Beast reports researchers with Airwars, which tracks military activity, “estimate that at least 2,300 civilians likely died from Coalition strikes overseen by the Obama White House—roughly 80 each month in Iraq and Syria. As of July 13, more than 2,200 additional civilians appear to have been killed by Coalition raids since Trump was inaugurated—upwards of 360 per month, or 12 or more civilians killed for every single day of his administration.”
One of the reasons cited for the rise is the battle moving to more populated areas, such as Mosul and Raqqa.
A U.S.-led joint task force with Operation Inherent Resolve, the name given to battle against ISIS, has confirmed just 603 of the total civilian deaths reported by Airwars, listing others as either “non-credible” or still under investigation.
Notably, Airwars is not the only group to question the civilian death toll in Iraq and Syria.
Reuters reports that investigators with the United Nations announced in June that U.S.-supported air strikes were resulting in a "staggering loss of civilian life."
