US-Led Coalition Admits Killing at Least 1,302 Civilians in Syria and Iraq

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US-led forces have killed at least 1,302 civilians while battling the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia) in Syria and Iraq, Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (JTF-OIR) said in its monthly casualty assessment on Friday.

"The Coalition conducted 34,502 strikes between August 2014 and the end of April 2019. During this period, based on information available, CJTF-OIR assesses at least 1,302 civilians have been unintentionally killed by Coalition strikes since the beginning of Operation Inherent Resolve", the assessment said.

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Last month, the coalition published similar numbers, claiming that 1,291 civilians had been unintentionally killed during the campaign against the jihadists. At the same time, however, rights watchdog Amnesty International stated that about 1,600 civilians had been killed by the coalition forces during the onslaught on Raqqa from June to October 2017.

The United States and its allies have been fighting the Daesh* terror group in Syria and Iraq since 2014. While Baghdad has consented to host foreign troops in the country, coalition forces are carrying out a campaign in Syria without the approval of the government or a mandate from the UN Security Council.

* Daesh (ISIL/ISIS/IS/Islamic State) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia