UK unaware of Afghan casualties caused by drone attacks

London, (IRNA): The British government has admitted that it is unaware of how many people in Afghanistan have been killed or injured as a result of UK unmanned aircraft and armed drone missions since such craft were first used in the country.


“The Ministry of Defence (MoD) does not hold a comprehensive record of figures for insurgent or civilian casualties in Afghanistan, because of the immense difficulty and risks that would be involved in collecting robust data.” Defence Minister Andrew Robathan said.

“Any incident involving civilian casualties is a matter of deep regret and we take every possible measure to avoid such incidents,” Robathan told MPs in a written parliamentary reply published Tuesday.

“There are strict procedures, frequently updated in light of experience, intended to both minimise the risk of casualties occurring and to investigate incidents that do happen,” he said.

The minister was asked by Green Party leader Caroline Lucas what mechanism the government used to monitor civilian deaths and injuries caused by the five Reaper drones it deploys in Afghanistan.

Official figures show that British-controlled Reapers, which usually carry four Hellfire rockets and two laser-guided bombs, used their weapons in Afghanistan 123 times in the first 10 months of 2010.

The increased use of drones as weapons delivery platforms has raised alarm among MPs and peace groups, including by Methodists at their annual conference last week which also questioned the legality of ‘targeted killings’ and warned of the danger of creating ‘Playstation Mentality’ to warfare.

Apart from Afghanistan, armed UAVs have been increasingly used by the US in Pakistan as well as by the Israelis in Gaza, but in a separate parliamentary answer, Robathan denied that the UK had deployed drones over Pakistan.

“No UK Reaper remotely piloted air systems or unmanned air systems have been used in Pakistani airspace by UK forces,” he said.

The minister also insisted that the MoD operates to the “highest legal, moral and ethical standards.” As stated in its Joint Doctrine Note (JDN 2/11) this year, it recognises that “we must continue to observe these high standards when employing new technology, including Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS),” he said.

“JDN 2/11 seeks to consider how UAS may contribute to the UK's future defence and security needs. Its purpose is to identify the issues that should be addressed if such systems are to be successfully developed and integrated into future operations.” he told MPs.

But he also admitted that it did “not describe agreed policy but rather seeks to energise debate within the UK to inform policy development; (and) the Ministry of Defence welcomes and encourages that debate and the opportunity to contribute fully to it.”