Strikes? What Strikes? Pentagon "Forgets" About 6,000 Airstrikes in Syria, Iraq

The US Defense Department airstrikes summary since the beginning of the start of the air campaign against Daesh in Syria and Iraq has left nearly 6,000 airstrikes unreported, The Military Times newspaper investigation showed.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the newspaper's report published on Sunday, the US Air Force summary estimates 23,740 coalition airstrikes through 2016, while the US Defense Department lists about 17,861 airstrikes through January 31, 2017. This number has been repeatedly cited by the Pentagon, when it updated the media on its operations against Daesh and al-Qaeda affiliates in Iraq and Syria.

The US-led coalition of 68 nations started to carry out airstrikes against Daesh in Syria and Iraq in 2014, with the strikes in Syria not being authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the UN Security Council.

In line with the recent monthly report of the US-led operation, since the beginning of the counter-Daesh campaign, coalition strikes unintentionally killed at least 199 civilians.

Daesh is outlawed in the United States, Russia and numerous other countries.