Many civilian deaths in US secret unit's fight against ISIS. A single top-secret American combat unit has used tens of thousands of bombs and missiles against the Islamic State in Syria. But in fighting a vicious enemy, the shadowy unit bypassed security measures and repeatedly killed civilians, according to several current and former military and intelligence officials. But people who worked with the task force say that in its haste to destroy enemies, it bypassed rules enacted to protect non-combatants and alerted its partners in the military and CIA by killing people who had no role in the conflict: Farmers trying to harvest crops, children on the street, families fleeing fighting, and villagers seeking shelter indoors.
The US has formally ended its combat mission in Iraq against ISIS, but troops will remain by Dave DeCamp
As the US is changing the nature of its military presence in Iraq, the US-led global anti-ISIS coalition is shifting its focus to the African continent. Last week, the State Department announced that the anti-ISIS coalition is forming the Africa Focus Group, which will be co-chaired by the US, Morocco, Italy, and Niger. The US also welcomed Burkina Faso as the 84th member of the coalition. The State Department said the Africa Focus Group will “enable the Coalition to undertake civilian capacity-building programs to help address the ISIS threat across Africa, and to synchronize those efforts with existing initiatives on the ground.” The US has been quietly expanding special operations missions across Africa to fight against Islamist militants. The US is quick to label any Islamist group as an ISIS affiliate, but some experts have disagreed with the US designations. For example, the US has designated the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) that is fighting against the government in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as an ISIS affiliate. But a report from the UN Group of Experts on the Congo found no conclusive evidence that ISIS and the ADF were linked besides public statements. The UN report said both ISIS and the ADF benefit from the US designation since it makes the groups appear to be more powerful. The designation also helped the US since it authorized the deployment of special operations troops. The US announced on Thursday that it formally ended its combat mission in Iraq against ISIS, but all 2,500 troops that are stationed in the country will remain in an advisory role. In Syria, the US maintains a presence of about 900 troops under the guise of fighting ISIS, but in reality, the occupation is part of Washington’s campaign against Damascus.
Civilian Deaths Mounted as Secret Unit Pounded ISIS
An American strike cell alarmed its partners as it raced to defeat the enemy.
A single top secret American strike cell launched tens of thousands of bombs and missiles against the Islamic State in Syria, but in the process of hammering a vicious enemy, the shadowy force sidestepped safeguards and repeatedly killed civilians, according to multiple current and former military and intelligence officials.
The unit was called Talon Anvil, and it worked in three shifts around the clock between 2014 and 2019, pinpointing targets for the United States’ formidable air power to hit: convoys, car bombs, command centers and squads of enemy fighters.
But people who worked with the strike cell say in the rush to destroy enemies, it circumvented rules imposed to protect noncombatants, and alarmed its partners in the military and the C.I.A. by killing people who had no role in the conflict: farmers trying to harvest, children in the street, families fleeing fighting, and villagers sheltering in buildings.
Talon Anvil was small — at times fewer than 20 people operating from anonymous rooms cluttered with flat screens — but it played an outsize role in the 112,000 bombs and missiles launched against the Islamic State, in part because it embraced a loose interpretation of the military’s rules of engagement.
“They were ruthlessly efficient and good at their jobs,” said one former Air Force intelligence officer who worked on hundreds of classified Talon Anvil missions from 2016 to 2018. “But they also made a lot of bad strikes.” The military billed the air war against the Islamic State as the most precise and humane in military history, and said strict rules and oversight by top leaders kept civilian deaths to a minimum despite a ferocious pace of bombing. In reality, four current and former military officials say, the majority of strikes were ordered not by top leaders but by relatively low-ranking U.S. Army Delta Force commandos in Talon Anvil. more: