The Pentagon has been sharply criticized by two leading human rights groups for saying this week that the United States military will never know the exact number of civilians killed in the four-year fight against the Islamic State, NBC News reported.
Both Amnesty International USA and Human Rights Watch condemned the remarks as an abdication of responsibility to avoid civilian casualties and thoroughly investigate the collateral damage of war. A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition battling ISIS militants this week said anyone who claims they will know the number of civilians killed "is lying, and there's no possible way."
"When the U.S. tells the world it doesn't care enough to track the deaths of civilians it is causing, that's a green light for belligerents around the world to take the exact same attitude," said Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East and North Africa director for Human Rights Watch.