The Pentagon Has Finally Admited That Civilians Were Killed During U.S. Led Air Strikes Against Islamic State Targets

A pair of U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles fly over northern Iraq after conducting airstrikes in Syria, in this U.S. Air Force handout photo taken early in the morning of September 23, 2014. (Reuters/U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Matthew)

Nancy A. Youssef, Daily Beast: Exclusive: Pentagon Admits Anti-ISIS Strikes Killed Civilians

For months, officials have said a relentless bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria isn’t killing innocents. But now an internal military investigation concludes otherwise.

An internal military investigation has concluded that two civilians were killed in a U.S.-led coalition airstrike against the self-proclaimed Islamic State, two defense officials confirmed to The Daily Beast, marking the first time the U.S. military has acknowledged killing a civilian since the air campaign began nine months ago.

In that time, the U.S.-led coalition has conducted more than 3,500 strikes and either destroyed or damaged more than 6,000 targets, according to the Defense Department. Previously, the U.S. military had said it had no evidence that a civilian had ever been killed in the air campaign against ISIS, a claim that even military officials privately acknowledged was hard to believe, given the high odds of unintended mistakes.

WNU Editor: I cannot say that I am surprised by this admission .... everyone knows that civilians get killed in war time .... especially from air strikes. On a side note ... Walter Pincus at the Washington Post has a timely article that examines how coverage of these air strikes draws less scrutiny than drone strikes .... Strikes from manned aircraft draw much less scrutiny than drones (Walter Pincus, Washington Post).