484 civilians killed in US-led strikes in Iraq and Syria: Pentagon

A member of the Syrian government forces stands on the rubble of destroyed buildings on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, May 13, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

The Pentagon says that US-led military campaign against purported Daesh targets in Syria and Iraq has left 484 civilians dead since mid-2014.

“To date, based on information available, CJTF-OIR [Combined Joint Task Force] assesses that, it is more likely than not, at least 484 civilians have been unintentionally killed by coalition strikes since the start of Operation Inherent Resolve,” read a report by Operation Inherent Resolve released on Friday.

According to the report, a total of 21,035 airstrikes, including 44,330 separate engagements, were carried out against Daesh between August 2014 and April 2017.

The report also showed that the total number of dead civilians increased by more than a third as last month’s report acknowledged 352 civilian deaths.

In this file photo released by the US Air Force, fighter jets fly over northern Iraq to carry out airstrikes in Syria.

The increase was mostly the result of an airstrike carried out on March 17 in the Iraqi city of Mosul, during which “101 civilians sheltered in the bottom floors of the structure, and four civilians in a neighboring structure were killed.”

Meanwhile, independent monitors say that coalition strikes have led to significantly more civilian casualties.

According to independent watchdog Airwars, at least 3,817 people have been killed by coalition strikes as of Friday.

The United States and its allies formed the coalition in 2014 with a purported aim of fighting Daesh in neighboring Iraq, but they later expanded it to include territories in eastern and northern Syria. Damascus, which itself is fighting terrorists on multiple fronts, condemned the decision at the time, saying it violated Syria’s territorial integrity.