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US Slams New Study on Afghan Civilian Casualties

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD - The United States military Tuesday refuted as "one-sided" a
   new report that civilian casualties caused by American and coalition
   airstrikes in Afghanistan had spiked to record levels.
   [1]The report released Monday by the Costs of War project at Brown
   University attributed the increase to a 2017 decision by the Trump
   administration to relax the rules of engagement for airstrikes against
   the Taliban. It claimed the number of Afghan civilians killed in the
   strikes has since increased by 330%.
   "We disagree with the one-sided analysis presented in Costs of War,
   which relies on disputed data and ignores civilian casualties caused by
   Taliban and ISIS attacks," U.S. military spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett
   said, using an acronym for the Islamic State terror group.
   "This includes ongoing Taliban use of car bombs, IEDs [improvised
   explosive devices], rockets and targeted killings to intimidate, harass
   and instill fear across Afghanistan," he added in a written response
   shared with VOA via email.
   Leggett drew attention to the latest quarterly report by the United
   Nations that acknowledged Afghan civilian casualties caused by U.S.
   airstrikes "all but ceased" since February 29, the date when Washington
   sealed a troop withdrawal agreement with the Taliban.
   "That same report attributed more than 3,400 civilian casualties to
   'anti-government elements,' including ISIS and the Taliban," he noted.
   The Costs of War project says the escalation in U.S. airstrikes was
   seemingly directed at increasing pressure on the Taliban to negotiate
   peace. In 2019 alone, airstrikes killed 700 civilians -- more civilians
   than in any other year since the beginning of the war in 2001 and 2002,
   the report said.
   However, the U.S. reduced the number of airstrikes after signing the
   landmark deal with the Taliban and began withdrawing troops from
   Afghanistan to wind down what is dubbed America's longest war.

References

   1. https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2020/Rising%20Civilian%20Death%20Toll%20in%20Afghanistan_Costs%20of%20War_Dec%207%202020.pdf

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