US investigating civilian casualty claims in Iraq, Syria
The US military said on Tuesday it had received 18 complaints of civilian casualties in air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, but concluded that 13 of the cases were not credible and was still reviewing the other five.
The Pentagon has said it takes allegations of civilian casualties seriously and investigates them, but in the past military officials had played down such reports.
"We ... apply very rigorous standards in our targeting process to prevent civilian casualties in the first place," said Sergeant First Class Sheryl Lawry, a spokeswoman for Central Command, which oversees US military forces in the Middle East.
Lawry said nine reports of possible civilian casualties took place in Syria and nine in Iraq. Thirteen of the cases were found to be baseless while five are under further review, including two involving fewer than five deaths that are being investigated more deeply.
She said the two cases under closer investigation were the result of the US military's own internal review process and were not based on allegations from outside the Department.
