US Airstrike in Eastern Syria Kills 25, Including Children

More than half of the victims of the U.S. Airstrikers have been identified as women and children.

Jason Ditz
By Jason Ditz
People inspect damage from US coalition airstrikes and artillery shelling in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, Syria, May 29, 2017. (Aamaq via AP)

A U.S. airstrike in eastern Syria’s al-Shaafa region has killed at least 25 people on Monday, with more than half of the slain identified as women and children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Details on the slain are still emerging, but U.S. spokesman Col. Ryan Dillon attempted to downplay reports, saying the US takes “all

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The Smart Weapons Fallacy: Civilian Casualties From “Precision” Airstrikes in Iraq and Syria

The new face of war which governments try to conceal: a limited number of combat troops on the ground call in devastating airstrikes from planes, missiles and drones.

Patrick Cockburn
By Patrick Cockburn
Iraq | Mosul

The final elimination of ISIS in Iraq and Syria is close, but welcome though the defeat of these monstrous movements may be, it has only been achieved at the cost of great destruction and loss of life. This is the new face of war which governments try to conceal: a limited number of combat troops on the ground call in devastating airstrikes from

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Trump’s New Targeting Rules Pave the Way for Escalating the US War in Somalia 

The rate of US drone strikes in Somalia have doubled since Trump enacted new rules reversing targeting procedures introduced by Obama in response to concerns about civilian casualties.

Jack Serle
By Jack Serle
Somalian President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed seen here with commander US Marine Corps Gen. Thomas D. Waldhauser earlier this year via Africom

Last week's US air operation in Somalia took the total number of strikes carried out in 2017 to a record 29, raising the possibility of an expansion in military operations outside of conventional battlefields under President Donald Trump. Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama had already escalated strikes in Somalia to 14 a year, reflecting the

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US Response to Civilian Casualties Confuses Controversial Kunduz Strike

If the death toll of ten civilians is confirmed, it would make the Chardara strike one of the biggest mistakes US aircraft have made in Afghanistan this year.

Jessica Purkiss
Ruhullah Khapalwak
By Jessica Purkiss
And Ruhullah Khapalwak
Afghan villagers gather around a victim who was killed during clashes between Taliban and Afghan security forces in Taliban's controlled village, Buz-e Kandahari village in Kunduz province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Nov. 4, 2016. (AP/Najim Rahim)

The US has added to the confusion about a major civilian casualty allegation in Afghanistan, complicating its initial statement that there were no innocents killed in the 4 November airstrike in Kunduz province. Residents' claims in the media that the attack on Chardara district had killed civilians were denied in the days following the

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Officials Investigate Contradicting Civilian Death Tolls In Afghan Airstrike

Unconfirmed reports purporting the deaths of as many as 60 people, accompanied by alleged images of the aftermath, were circulated on social media.

teleSUR
By teleSUR
In this Oct. 2, 2015 file photo, Afghan security forces inspect the site of a U.S. airstrike in Kunduz city, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo)

According to officials, Afghan and U.S. military personnel are investigating reports that about 13 civilians were killed during an operation in Kunduz. The U.S. military said it had launched a probe into what is believed to be a joint U.S.-Afghan operation on Nov. 3. Afghan Defense Ministry said security officers were assigned to investigate

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UN: US Airstrikes Responsible For 1 In 4 Civilian Casualties In Mosul

A new United Nations report suggests that a large number of civilians, 1 in 4, were killed by the United States-led coalition’s airstrikes during the Battle of Mosul.

teleSUR
By teleSUR
A resident carries the bodies of six people killed during fights between Iraq security forces and Islamic State on the western side of Mosul, Iraq, Friday, March 24, 2017. Residents of the Iraqi city's neighborhood known as Mosul Jidideh at the scene say that scores of residents are believed to have been killed by airstrikes that hit a cluster of homes in the area earlier this month (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

According to a new report published by the United Nations, airstrikes launched by the U.S.-led coalition led to the death of 1 in 4 civilians during the operation to ‘liberate’ the city from the Islamic State group. The report, commissioned by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI),

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