INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The US military killed 12 civilians in 2021, all in Afghanistan, according to a Pentagon report released Tuesday.The Department of Defense
&assesses that there were approximately 12 civilians killed and approximately five civilians injured during 2021 as a result of US military
operations,& said the report, which Congress has required to be produced annually since 2018, and part of which is classified.All of the
civilian deaths occurred in Afghanistan, AFP reported.The Pentagon has already acknowledged its responsibility for the deaths of 10 members
of the same family, including seven children, during the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan at the end of August 2021.The public
document specifies that a civilian was killed in a US strike on January 8 in Herat, and another on August 11 in Kandahar
Two civilians were also wounded on January 18 in Kandahar, AFP reported.In addition, the US military admitted having wounded three civilians
on January 1 in a strike in Qunyo Barrow, Somalia.The Pentagon also reassessed its counts from the years 2018 to 2020, recognizing 10 more
dead and 18 wounded, all in Syria.NGOs regularly publish much higher assessments of deaths and injuries from US strikes in conflict
zones.The organization Airwars, which lists the civilian victims of air strikes around the world, estimated in its annual report published
in May that between 15 and 27 civilians had been killed in US operations in Syria alone, AFP reported.In January 2022, US Secretary of
Defense Lloyd Austin urged the military to do more to avoid civilian casualties in airstrikes, after several deadly blunders that tarnished
the reputation of the military.The post US admits killing 12 civilians in 2021, all in Afghanistan first appeared on Ariana News.
