White House: 116 Civilians ’Accidentally’ Killed in US Airstrikes

Local Editor

American drone strikes accidentally killed up to 116 civilians in countries that the US is not at war with, the White House said.

However, the number is lower than the figures cited by various human rights organizations.

On the contrary, no information was released on the number of unintended civilian deaths in countries the US is at war with.

The long-awaited announcement, which came on Friday afternoon, acknowledges that between 64 and 116 civilians were killed by US drone operations in Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and other African countries, compared to 2,500 members of terrorist groups.

However, deaths resulting from strikes in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria were not counted in the report.

The government said that the number of civilian deaths from drone strikes isn't always clear, meaning that the numbers it released may be revised. The total is far lower than estimates made by non-governmental organization.

"As the statement today from the DNI notes, in releasing these figures, the US Government also acknowledges that there are differences between US Government assessments and reporting from non-governmental organizations on non-combatant deaths resulting from US operations," the White House noted.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team