US-airstrikes against ISIS have killed 459 civilians in Iraq and Syria

#ISIS, #civiliancasualties, #airstrikes #Iraq #Syria It has now been revealed that US-led airstrikes against ISIS militants have killed at least 459 civilians in Iraq and Syria during last year. This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 4 August 2015.
This number of civilian casualties is the result of 57 airstrikes and 48 of the deaths are suspected "friendly fire" deaths. Of course, it is claimed that those same airstrikes have killed more than 15,000 IS militants.

The US had begun airstrikes against IS in Iraq on 8 August last year, and in Syria on 23 September. Subsequently, a coalition of countries has joined the operations and a total of more than 5,800 airstrikes have taken place in Syria and Iraq.
So far, the US has acknowledged killing two civilians in its airstrikes – they are two children who died during a strike against al Qaeda-linked militants in Syria in 2014. And, that particular airstrike is the subject of one of at least four ongoing investigations by the US military into allegations of civilian casualties.
Britain has announced that its RAF Tornados would extend airstrikes for another year.
The aim of these airstrikes is to cripple the ISIS outfits by targeting and destroying their ground installations and, in the course of such strikes, a certain of civilian casualties have to be treated as fait accompli, a necessary evil.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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RAF Tornados and Reaper drones locate and destroy ISIS underground hideouts

Video footage released by the Ministry of Defense has revealed RAF Tornados and unmanned Reaper drones dropping Hellfire missiles and 500lb laser-guided bombs on ISIS underground hideouts to destroy them.
In Anbar province, a Reaper drone used a Hellfire missile to destroy a mortar which was firing on Iraqi troops while a Reaper and two RAF Tornados carried out three attacks with Paveway IV bombs to destroy an artillery position and two other bunkers in northern Iraq.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 27 May 2015.

British armed drones and warplanes have blitzed Islamic State targets in Iraq after seeking out militant hideouts that were covered in sand and camouflage nets to keep them away from prying eyes. Such coordinated attacks have helped Iraqi troops to move in and seize back the key city of Ramadi.
The action was a part of the US-led coalition air strikes carried out in a bid to degrade IS fighters who have captured an arsenal of weapons from Iraqi forces. The US Special Forces were reported to be operating deep inside Iraq – video released showed eight American helicopters flying low over the desert. These helicopters belonged to the US Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne).
The US military has apparently agreed to provide some 2,000 anti-tank rockets to Iraq ‘within the next week’ to help it fight IS.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)


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