Talk:War against the Islamic State

Civilian casualties and non combat military

It's just wrong to list them in the losses on the coalition side. Civilians should be listed below, while non combat losses should just not be counted or listed below as they are not direct effects of the military confrontation. Also, IS does not operate any MiG aircraft. Controlling an air-frame is very different from using it. 600 tanks look really far fetched.

Change the map back

Syrian soldiers died fighting isis for syria not for julani 176.72.95.104 (talk) 00:59, 12 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Assad casualties use the opposition flag in biopic

Because it's a link to the wiki page for Syria, it uses the current Syrian flag instead of the Assadist flag, though the Syrian flag is already used for the opposition. Segment could possibly be re-worked into 1 Syrian dropdown with both Assadist and Opposition forces listed. RuneLord13 (talk) 18:39, 10 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Updating the section about civilian causalities

I would like to suggest updating the current section about civilian losses caused by coalition airstrikes, with the information available from Airwars and Amnesty International. The current section is outdated, and severely undermines the estimates of civilian deaths. Also, the section needs to be updated to reflect the official reactions of the countries implicated in these airstrikes to the claims of civilian deaths.

Estimated civilian casualties caused by Coalition member states
Country Estimated civilian casualties Notes
United States 8,000–13,000 Covered in article body. Airwars estimates ~13,000 deaths; U.S. Central Command acknowledges ~1,500. (Airwars – US)
United Kingdom ~1,000 UK has confirmed only one death; Airwars estimates range much higher. (Airwars – UK)
France 80–200 No confirmed cases; Amnesty and Airwars report substantial harm during Raqqa operations. (Airwars – France)
Australia 30–70 One confirmed death; others reported but unacknowledged. (Airwars – Australia)
Netherlands 70+ Dutch strike on Hawija (2015) killed at least 70 civilians. Initially denied; later confirmed. (Reuters 2019, Airwars – Netherlands)
Denmark 5–10 No official investigations; small number of reported incidents tracked by Airwars. (Airwars – Denmark)

Official responses from the coalition forces governments

  • United States: Has officially acknowledged about 1,500 civilian deaths, far below Airwars’ estimate of 8,000–13,000 (Airwars – US). While some internal Pentagon investigations have occurred, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have criticized the processes as opaque and insufficient (Amnesty 2022).
  • United Kingdom: Officially acknowledged only one civilian death, despite independent estimates suggesting far higher numbers (Airwars – UK). Repeated calls from Airwars, Amnesty International, and members of Parliament for independent investigations have not resulted in comprehensive reviews (Airwars/Guardian).
  • France: Has not acknowledged any civilian casualties. The French Ministry of Armed Forces rarely comments on individual strikes. Amnesty International reports significant civilian harm during operations in Raqqa but no official French investigations (Airwars – France, Amnesty 2018).
  • Australia: Acknowledged one civilian death in 2021, years after the incident—but has not publicly investigated other alleged cases (Airwars – Australia, Guardian 2021).
  • Netherlands: Initially denied any casualties in the 2015 Hawija strike. Later confirmed the deaths of at least 70 civilians after investigative journalism revealed the incident (Airwars – Netherlands, Reuters 2019). Critics described the government’s internal investigation as limited and lacking transparency (Human Rights Watch 2020).
  • Denmark: No civilian deaths have been officially acknowledged, and Danish authorities have not publicly investigated reports of civilian harm linked to their strikes (Airwars – Denmark).

Possibility of war crimes

Several legal experts and human rights organizations have raised concerns that some airstrikes carried out by the US-led Coalition may have violated international humanitarian law. The First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions (1977) prohibits indiscriminate attacks and requires all parties to a conflict to distinguish between civilian populations and combatants at all times (Article 51, Protocol I). Attacks that are disproportionate in relation to the anticipated military advantage, or that fail to take feasible precautions to protect civilians, may be considered war crimes. Amnesty International and Airwars have documented a number of strikes, particularly during the 2017 campaign in Raqqa, that resulted in large-scale destruction of residential areas and high civilian casualties (Amnesty International, 2018; Airwars – Raqqa report). Despite these concerns, most Coalition member states have not carried out independent investigations into specific incidents. That is why I also suggest that the article should be added to the category of war crimes. YAC-med-2010 (talk) 01:38, 29 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]