Investigation into suspected civilian casualties

New way of informing

In 2020, the House of Representatives agreed to a new way for the Ministry of Defence to inform the House of Representatives about its investigations into civilian casualties. Since then, it is standard practice for the Ministry of Defence to inform the House of Representatives within a week after the start of a new investigation.

The Ministry of Defence then investigates the legitimacy of the deployment of weapons, any possible errors in procedures and identifies civilian casualties to the best of its capacity.

Ongoing investigations

Mosul 2016

In 2016, an air strike by Dutch F-16s on a building in the Iraqi city of Mosul caused civilian casualties, according to sources from the Netherlands Broadcasting Corporation (NOS) and the NRC, a national Dutch newspaper. According to the anti-ISIS coalition, the building was the location of ISIS headquarters. On 30 March 2023, the Ministry of Defence informed the House of Representatives about the start of an investigation into the incident, following new information from NOS and NRC.

Completed investigations

Chora 2007

During the defence of the Chora valley during the Dutch mission in Afghanistan in 2007, several civilians and a Dutch soldier were killed. During the Battle of Chora, an Afghan residential complex (a quala), from which shots were fired at Dutch soldiers, was attacked. In 2022, the court ruled that the Dutch State could not sufficiently demonstrate that the residential complex had been a legitimate military objective. The State will comply with the court's decision by paying compensation.

Hawija 2015

In 2015, part of the Iraqi city of Hawija was severely hit by secondary explosions of an unforeseen scale after a Dutch F-16 bombed an ISIS bomb factory, resulting in civilian casualties. The Netherlands has since carried out reconstruction projects in Hawija on a voluntary basis.

Mosul 2015

On the night of 20-21 September 2015, an air strike was carried out in Mosul against an alleged ISIS headquarters. Afterwards, the Netherlands was informed by CENTCOM that the target later appeared to have in fact been a residential house containing civilians. Prior to the weapon deployment, there were no indications of incorrect information. In 2020, a survivor received voluntary compensation from the Defence organisation.

Independent research

With the help of the Netherlands Institute of Military History (NIMH), the Netherlands Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies (NIOD) is conducting independent research into 20 years of Dutch deployment in Afghanistan. The Battle of Chora, fought in 2007, is part of this study.

An independent investigation committee under the leadership of Ms Winnie Sorgdrager LLM is now examining how it was possible that the Dutch weapons deployment in Hawija in 2015 resulted in civilian casualties. The committee is also looking into the lessons to be learned for future missions.