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As we wait for formal announcements on the defeat of ISIS, some key stats:
- This was a major conflict, at 1,688 days lasting 3 months longer than WW1 and involving almost 80 countries in the broader campaign; 14 kinetic international allies; and local forces in Iraq and Syria.
- This was a major conflict, at 1,688 days lasting 3 months longer than WW1 and involving almost 80 countries in the broader campaign; 14 kinetic international allies; and local forces in Iraq and Syria.
The firepower and destruction directed at ISIS has been massive. The international allies alone conducted around 34,000 air and artillery strikes from 2014 - with more than 116,000 munitions released from the air. The US was the dominant ally throughout.
Of those 34,000 US-led air and artillery strikes, some 14,500 were in Iraq and 19,500 in Syria. Many towns and cities have been left in ruins, part of the price for driving ISIS out of a territory once as large as the United Kingdom.
In 2017, the Trump Administration began referring to the conflict as a 'war of annihilation' against ISIS - and the tempo of battle and destruction increased significantly. The fight to defeat ISIS has been far more intense than the long running war in Afghanistan, for example.
While @CJTFOIR has been wary of estimating ISIS casualties recently, officials have previously placed the claimed death toll for ISIS fighters at more than 80,000.
But civilians have paid a heavy price - with more than 28,000 people locally alleged killed by Coalition actions.
But civilians have paid a heavy price - with more than 28,000 people locally alleged killed by Coalition actions.
Our own estimate is that at least 7,500 civilians died in US-led Coalition actions between 2014 and today. @CJTFOIR concedes 1,257 deaths. Many more were killed in actions by allied ground forces in Iraq and Syria.
Thousands of civilians were also slain by ISIS during the war.
Thousands of civilians were also slain by ISIS during the war.
While the international Coalition provided the bulk of air and artillery support for the war, most hard fighting was carried out by local forces - Iraqi government, PMU and Kurdish troops; and in Syria, primarily the Kurdish dominated SDF which says it alone lost 11,000 fighters.
In parallel though smaller campaigns, Syrian government forces backed by Russia and Iran defeated ISIS at Palmyra and elsewhere - while Turkey routed ISIS from Al Bab and its environs in 2016. Reported civilian harm during these actions was also often significant.
Check the Airwars website for our evolving archive of military claims and reported civilian casualties. Thought the war against ISIS may be ending, we'll continue to seek transparency and accountability for Iraqis and Syrians affected by conflict violence: airwars.org
