{"id":17666,"date":"2021-07-06T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/07\/06\/lawmakers-say-dod-undercounts-civilian-casualties\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:49:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:49:40","slug":"lawmakers-say-dod-undercounts-civilian-casualties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/07\/06\/lawmakers-say-dod-undercounts-civilian-casualties\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers say DoD undercounts civilian casualties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 The Pentagon says fewer than two dozen civilians were killed in overseas anti-terrorism operations last year, but a pair of U.S. lawmakers doesn\u2019t believe them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., are asking for a formal probe into potential undercounting of civilian casualties<\/a> by the Defense Department, saying the issue cuts to the core of military integrity and transparency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month, a Pentagon report acknowledged 23 civilian deaths and 10 injuries from the result of its operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia, during 2020. That\u2019s a significant drop from the 132 civilian casualties the Pentagon acknowledged the previous year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the lawmakers believe the true number could be almost five times higher, citing Airwars, an independent group that tracks airstrikes and civilian casualties. They want Austin to review the discrepancies and to require future military probes into civilian casualties give greater weight to external information sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\t