US Central Command on Jan. 29 announced an additional five civilian deaths and eight civilian injuries caused by four US airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The airstrikes occurred between July and October 2015 against ISIS vehicles and high-value targets, according to a CENTCOM release. On July 27, US strikes on ISIS vehicles near Ash Sharqat, Iraq, injured one civilian. On Aug. 13, US strikes on an ISIS cyber operative, Junaid Hussain, in Ar Raqqah, Syria, killed three civilians and injured five more. On Sept. 24, strikes on an ISIS vehicle killed two civilians. The US aircraft released a weapon targeting an enemy combatant on a motorcycle that was stopped at an intersection. After the weapon was fired, another vehicle pulled up to the intersection and was also destroyed. On Oct. 15, strikes targeting ISIS judge Mullah Maysar injured two civilians when Maysar’s vehicle veered into oncoming traffic. CENTCOM has received dozens of allegations of civilian casualties, but at least 87 have been deemed not credible, CENTCOM spokesman Air Force Col. Patrick Ryder said Jan. 22.
The Pentagon has concluded a new agreement to buy laser-guidance kits that turn rockets into drone-killing weapons. BAE Systems and the Defense Department announced a framework deal of up to seven years for 25,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System guidance kits annually for the U.S. military.