No evidence to support charity's claim UK airstrikes on IS may have killed civilians, MOD says

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) says there is "no evidence" of any civilian deaths in UK airstrikes targeting so-called Islamic State (IS) after a charity claimed at least 29 civilians may have been killed. 

Based on its own research, Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) claims nine Royal Air Force strikes "likely or very likely" resulted in civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria between March 2016 and March 2018.

The charity says the MOD's admission that only one civilian death had occurred during the UK military's campaign against IS was not credible.

• RAF kills IS member using Reaper drone
• IS 'diminished' but threat 'hasn't gone away', coalition deputy chief says
• Leading Islamic State member targeted by RAF Reaper drone, Wallace tells Commons

In 2018, the MOD said a civilian motorcyclist was unintentionally killed by a drone strike in eastern Syria after entering the target area at the last moment.

Responding to the latest claims made by the charity, an MOD spokesperson said: "There is no evidence or indication that civilian casualties were caused by strikes in Syria and Iraq.

"The UK always minimises the risk of civilian casualties through our rigorous processes and carefully examines a range of evidence to do this, including comprehensive analysis of the mission data for every strike."

The RAF's air campaign against IS in Iraq in Syria is codenamed Operation Shader and is part of a global coalition against the group.

Earlier this month a "leading" member of IS, who was involved in chemical and biological weapons, was targeted in an RAF drone strike in Syria.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the Commons the strike took place in December, with two missiles fired, both of which "struck the target accurately".

Dr Iain Overton, Executive Director of AOAV, said: "We ensured the accuracy and completeness of our findings by cross-referencing them with multiple databases, including leaked files from the Pentagon's assessments of civilian casualties, MOD press releases, and credible news reports.

"With the exception of one, all of the evidence pertaining to the listed airstrikes that caused civilian casualties were deemed 'highly credible' by the US Department of Defence."