Talk:War against the Islamic State
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 | Requested Moves Notice: This is a subsidiary article of then main article "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant". The name in the article title of this article that names the entity against which military intervention is occurring should remain the same as the main article (when that changes so should this one). -- PBS (talk) 14:13, 6 February 2015 (UTC)
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 | WARNING: ACTIVE COMMUNITY SANCTIONS The article War against the Islamic State, along with other pages relating to the Syrian Civil War and ISIL, is designated by the community as a contentious topic. The current restrictions are:
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 | On 6 June 2022, it was proposed that this article be moved to War against ISIS. The result of the discussion was Moved to War against the Islamic State. |
Civilian casualties and non combat military
editIt's just wrong to list them in the losses on the coalition side. Civilians should be listed below, while non combat losses should just not be counted or listed below as they are not direct effects of the military confrontation. Also, IS does not operate any MiG aircraft. Controlling an air-frame is very different from using it. 600 tanks look really far fetched.
Updating the section about civilian causalities
editI would like to suggest updating the current section about civilian losses caused by coalition airstrikes, with the information available from Airwars and Amnesty International. The current section is outdated, and severely undermines the estimates of civilian deaths. Also, the section needs to be updated to reflect the official reactions of the countries implicated in these airstrikes to the claims of civilian deaths.
| Country | Estimated civilian casualties | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 8,000–13,000 | Covered in article body. Airwars estimates ~13,000 deaths; U.S. Central Command acknowledges ~1,500. (Airwars – US) |
| United Kingdom | ~1,000 | UK has confirmed only one death; Airwars estimates range much higher. (Airwars – UK) |
| France | 80–200 | No confirmed cases; Amnesty and Airwars report substantial harm during Raqqa operations. (Airwars – France) |
| Australia | 30–70 | One confirmed death; others reported but unacknowledged. (Airwars – Australia) |
| Netherlands | 70+ | Dutch strike on Hawija (2015) killed at least 70 civilians. Initially denied; later confirmed. (Reuters 2019, Airwars – Netherlands) |
| Denmark | 5–10 | No official investigations; small number of reported incidents tracked by Airwars. (Airwars – Denmark) |
Official responses from the coalition forces governments
edit- United States: Has officially acknowledged about 1,500 civilian deaths, far below Airwars’ estimate of 8,000–13,000 (Airwars – US). While some internal Pentagon investigations have occurred, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have criticized the processes as opaque and insufficient (Amnesty 2022).
- United Kingdom: Officially acknowledged only one civilian death, despite independent estimates suggesting far higher numbers (Airwars – UK). Repeated calls from Airwars, Amnesty International, and members of Parliament for independent investigations have not resulted in comprehensive reviews (Airwars/Guardian).
- France: Has not acknowledged any civilian casualties. The French Ministry of Armed Forces rarely comments on individual strikes. Amnesty International reports significant civilian harm during operations in Raqqa but no official French investigations (Airwars – France, Amnesty 2018).
- Australia: Acknowledged one civilian death in 2021, years after the incident—but has not publicly investigated other alleged cases (Airwars – Australia, Guardian 2021).
- Netherlands: Initially denied any casualties in the 2015 Hawija strike. Later confirmed the deaths of at least 70 civilians after investigative journalism revealed the incident (Airwars – Netherlands, Reuters 2019). Critics described the government’s internal investigation as limited and lacking transparency (Human Rights Watch 2020).
- Denmark: No civilian deaths have been officially acknowledged, and Danish authorities have not publicly investigated reports of civilian harm linked to their strikes (Airwars – Denmark).
Possibility of war crimes
editSeveral legal experts and human rights organizations have raised concerns that some airstrikes carried out by the US-led Coalition may have violated international humanitarian law. The First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions (1977) prohibits indiscriminate attacks and requires all parties to a conflict to distinguish between civilian populations and combatants at all times (Article 51, Protocol I). Attacks that are disproportionate in relation to the anticipated military advantage, or that fail to take feasible precautions to protect civilians, may be considered war crimes. Amnesty International and Airwars have documented a number of strikes, particularly during the 2017 campaign in Raqqa, that resulted in large-scale destruction of residential areas and high civilian casualties (Amnesty International, 2018; Airwars – Raqqa report). Despite these concerns, most Coalition member states have not carried out independent investigations into specific incidents. That is why I also suggest that the article should be added to the category of war crimes. YAC-med-2010 (talk) 01:38, 29 September 2025 (UTC)
Shouldn't we put Hesbolah as part of the war against the ISIS too?
editI mea they fought against them in Mosul 2016-7. ~2026-54686-6 (talk) 23:14, 25 January 2026 (UTC)
Infobox
editInfoboxes are supposed to offer succinct summaries, but reading this infobox would only mislead and confuse. Srnec (talk) 22:29, 22 March 2026 (UTC)