US 'war on terror' has killed over 500,000 people: Report
About half a million people have died violently in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan due to the US "war on terror" that was launched after 9/11 attack in 2001, according to a study released yesterday. The report by Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs put the death toll at between 480,000 and 507,000 people but said the actual number might be higher.
'Increased body count signals that this war still remains intense'
The new toll "is a more than 110,000 increase over the last count, issued... in August 2016," the report stated. "Though the war on terror is often overlooked by the American press and lawmakers, the increased body count signals that this war still remains intense," it added. The death toll includes insurgents, local police, security forces, civilians, and the US and allied troops.
Civilians may have been killed in name of militants: Author
The report's author, Neta Crawford, said many of those reported by US and local forces as militants may actually have been civilians. "We may never know the total direct death toll in these wars," Crawford wrote. "For example, tens of thousands of civilians may have died in retaking Mosul and other cities from ISIS but their bodies have likely not been recovered," she stated.
Count doesn't include those who've died indirectly as war consequence
The report states that between 182,272 and 204,575 civilians have been killed in Iraq, 38,480 in Afghanistan, and 23,372 in Pakistan. It also stated that nearly 7,000 US troops have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The tally does not include all people who have died indirectly as a result of the war, including through a loss of infrastructure or disease.
