US: 8 civilians killed in strikes in Syria, Iraq

WASHINGTON

American warplanes have killed at least eight civilians and injured three others in Iraq and Syria between last April and July, a US CENTCOM report said Friday.

The report examined five separate U.S. airstrikes between April 12 and July 4 and resulted in a “thorough review of the facts and circumstances for each allegation” according to the CENTCOM.

“We deeply regret the unintentional loss of life and injuries resulting from those airstrikes and express our deepest sympathies to the victims' families and those affected,” a CENTCOM statement read.

A total of six civilians were killed and one injured in three airstrikes in the vicinity of the towns of Suluk and Tall al Adwaniyah and the city of Raqqah. All locations are within the province of Raqqah.

CENTCOM said one airstrike in the Hawija district of the Iraqi province of Kirkuk killed two civilians and another strike in the town of Hadidha in Anbar province may have injured two others.

U.S. military figures stand in stark contrast to those of independent human rights observatories.

The U.K.-based Syrian Network for Human Rights reports 125 civilians killed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes between February 2015 and July.

The organization’s data includes interviews conducted with family members of victims. According to the group’s figures, anti-Daesh coalition airstrikes in Syria have killed 225 civilians, including 65 children and 37 women, since September 2014 when the U.S. began striking militant targets in the country.

A Pentagon official, who spoke to Anadolu Agency on the condition of anonymity, said CENTCOM’s numbers reflect casualties caused by American warplanes.

The declassified number from U.S. agencies may not match those by human rights organizations, the official said, because the figures released by those organizations may have included casualties by other coalition partners.