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US admits 352 civilians killed since 2014 in battle against IS

US tally is far below that of outside groups; Airwars says more than 3,000 civilians have been killed by coalition air strikes
Smoke rises around minaret of mosque after air strike in southern Syria (AFP)
By Reuters

At least 352 civilians have been killed in US-led strikes against Islamic State (IS) group targets in Iraq and Syria since the operation began in 2014, the US military said in a statement on Sunday.

The military's official tally is far below those of other outside groups. Monitoring group Airwars said more than 3,000 civilians have been killed by coalition air strikes.

The Combined Joint Task Force, in its monthly assessment of civilian casualties from the US coalition's operations against the militant group, said it was still assessing 42 reports of civilian deaths.

It added that 45 civilians were killed between November 2016 and March 2017. It reported 80 civilian deaths from August 2014 to the present that had not previously been announced. The report included 26 deaths from three separate strikes in March.

Included in Sunday's tally were 14 civilians killed by a strike in March that set off a secondary explosion, as well as 10 civilians who were killed in a strike on IS headquarters the same month.

"We regret the unintentional loss of civilian lives ... and express our deepest sympathies to the families and others affected by these strikes," the Pentagon said in a statement.

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