April 30 (UPI) -- At least 352 civilians have been killed in U.S.-led strikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria since 2014, the U.S. military said Sunday.
"We regret the unintentional loss of civilian lives ... and express our deepest sympathies to the families and others affected by these strikes," the Pentagon said in a statement. "All feasible precautions were taken."
The monthly Combined Joint Task Force casualty report for Operation Inherent Resolve said 396 civilian casualties were reported in 20,205 strikes between August 2014 and March 2017.
The CJTF said it was reviewing 42 reports of civilian deaths, including a March 17 airstrike in Mosul believed to have killed more than 200 civilians.
"It is more likely than not, at least 352 civilians have been unintentionally killed by coalition strikes since the start of Operation Inherent Resolve," the report said.
Airwars, which monitors civilian casualties from international airstrikes, lists the death toll from coalition attacks in Iraq and Syria at 20,997.
Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of U.S. Central Command, said the military is working to prevent civilian casualties.
"I think the principal way that we are addressing this is by entrusting and enabling our very well-experienced and trained leaders on the ground," he told a congressional hearing in March. "They are the best guard against this."
