drone strikes with civilian casualties

01

Killing of Abdulrahman al-Awlaki

Sixteen-year-old Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen eating dinner in Yemen, was killed by a drone two weeks after his father. The Obama administration later said it was a mistake. His grandfather asked why.

02

R9X missile

The R9X carries no explosive — six curved steel blades fan out on descent to slice a single occupant of a car. Bystanders survive. The target does not. The weapon has no public name in official U.S. documents.

03

2017 Yakla raid

The raid on Yakla, Yemen was approved by Trump at a dinner with advisers — no Situation Room, no formal review. Among the 25 civilians killed: Nawar al-Awlaki, 8 years old, American-born, shot in the neck.

04

2021 Kabul drone strike

A U.S. drone struck a white Toyota Corolla in Kabul on August 29, 2021, killing ten people. Seven were children. The Pentagon called it 'righteous.' The car belonged to an aid worker carrying water jugs the military identified as explosives.

05

2011 Datta Khel airstrike

On March 17, 2011, a U.S. drone struck a jirga — a formal tribal council of elders — in Datta Khel, Pakistan. Forty-two men died. The CIA reportedly believed the gathering was a militant meeting. No militants were confirmed among the dead.

06

Anwar al-Awlaki

Anwar al-Awlaki, born in New Mexico, was placed on a presidential kill list, denied due process in U.S. courts, and killed by CIA drone in Yemen in September 2011. His lawyers were told they needed a license to represent him.

07

Double tap (tactic)

Double tap: a second missile fires minutes after the first, timed to hit rescuers pulling bodies from rubble. Human Rights Watch documented multiple double-tap strikes in Pakistan. The tactic makes aid workers into targets by profession.

08

2010 Uruzgan airstrike

A U.S. Predator drone tracked a convoy of vehicles for nearly four hours in Uruzgan, Afghanistan before firing. Twenty-three civilians died, including women and children. The drone crew had radioed that they saw 'possible' military-age males.

09

Psychological effects of drone warfare on civilian populations

Children in North Waziristan told researchers they could no longer play outside on sunny days. Drones do not fly in clouds. Blue sky became the signal for danger. A generation learned meteorology as threat assessment.

10

Nisoor Square massacre

Blackwater contractors opened fire in Baghdad's Nisoor Square on September 16, 2007, killing 17 Iraqi civilians. One victim was a medical student named Ahmed Haithem. Contractors initially claimed hostile fire; no evidence of incoming fire was found.