A report published by the Pentagon stated that its military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Somalia killed at least 132 civilians during the year 2019, an outcome much lower than the estimates of non-governmental organizations.
The US military admits that the largest number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan (108 killed and 75 wounded) is responsible for the killing of 22 civilians and the wounding of 13 others in Iraq and Syria, but it does not admit the killing of more than two civilians and the wounding of three others in Somalia.
The Pentagon said in an annual report requested by Congress that the ministry's assessments did not find any civilian losses as a result of its military operations in Yemen and Libya.
But independent monitoring groups say the Pentagon report provides a very limited number of dead civilians.
On the other hand, it is estimated that between 416 and 1030 civilians were killed in the US military operations in Iraq and Syria during the first half of 2019.
NGOs are constantly publishing more figures for victims of US strikes in conflict areas.
For its part, the "Ewers" organization - which counts the number of civilian victims of air strikes worldwide - estimates between 465 and 1113 the number of civilians killed last year in Syria alone, with operations by the US-led coalition.
For her part, said Daphne Evitar, a spokeswoman for the Amnesty International branch in the United States, "The report of the Ministry of Defense certainly constitutes some progress in transparency about US military operations."
She added that "the content of the report indicates at the same time that the Pentagon continues to reduce the number of civilian casualties."