America (Guantánamo, drone wars)
Since 2001 the United States has held Muslim men without charge at Guantánamo Bay and in secret CIA prisons abroad, where the US Senate found detainees were tortured. 780 men have passed through Guantánamo; 15 were still held in 2026. US drone and air strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Afghanistan killed many civilians, including at weddings, a jirga, a hospital and family homes. European courts ruled that Poland, Romania and Lithuania hosted CIA secret prisons. In 2017 the US barred entry to citizens of several Muslim-majority countries.
Key numbers
Who is responsible
United States government: Department of Defense and US military (Guantánamo, Bagram, air strikes), Central Intelligence Agency (black sites, Pakistan drone strikes), Joint Special Operations Command (Yemen), AFRICOM (Somalia); President Donald Trump (2017 entry ban). Poland, Romania and Lithuania were found complicit by the European Court of Human Rights.
Timeline
- 2002 First 20 detainees arrive at Guantánamo; CIA opens secret sites; two detainees die at Bagram
- 2004 US drone strikes in Pakistan begin
- 2006 Damadola strike kills 18+ villagers in Bajaur
- 2008 Wedding party at Haska Meyna and village of Azizabad hit in Afghanistan
- 2009 Granai airstrike in Farah; cruise missile with cluster bombs at al-Majalah, Yemen
- 2011 Drone strike on a jirga at Datta Khel
- 2013 Wedding convoy hit near Radaa, Yemen
- 2014 Senate report on CIA torture; European court rules against Poland
- 2015 US gunship strikes MSF hospital in Kunduz
- 2017 Entry ban on seven Muslim-majority countries
- 2018 European court rules Romania and Lithuania hosted CIA prisons; Supreme Court upholds travel ban
- 2021 Kabul drone strike kills Ahmadi family, 7 children
- 2026 Guantánamo enters its 25th year with 15 men held
Records (23)
US strikes in Yemen
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism counted 94–114 confirmed US drone strikes in Yemen from 2002 to about 2016, killing 444–661 people, 65–96 of them civilians, plus more in possible extra strikes and cruise missile attacks.
65–96 killed
Source: Airwars archive (Bureau of Investigative Journalism Yemen data)
Guantánamo Bay detention camp
The US military has held 780 men at its naval base in Guantánamo, Cuba, since January 2002, most without charge. Nine detainees died in custody. 15 were still held in January 2026.
780 detained
Source: Reprieve: Guantánamo facts and figures · The Star (AFP): Guantanamo enters its 25th year · Hespress: 11 Yemenis resettled in Oman, 15 remain
First 20 detainees at Camp X-Ray
The first 20 detainees, flown from Afghanistan, arrived at Guantánamo on 11 January 2002 and were held in outdoor chain-link cages at Camp X-Ray until it closed in April 2002.
20 detained
Source: Al Jazeera Liberties: anniversary of first Guantánamo arrivals · GlobalSecurity: Camp X-Ray
CIA secret detention and interrogation program
The US Senate Intelligence Committee's 2014 study found the CIA held at least 119 people in secret detention after 2001, at least 26 of them wrongfully. 39 were subjected to 'enhanced interrogation techniques', which the report called brutal and ineffective.
119 detained
Source: PBS Frontline: The CIA torture report · Bureau of Investigative Journalism: Senate committee summary · RFE/RL: Key findings of Senate report on CIA torture
CIA 'Detention Site Green', Thailand
The CIA's first black site, codenamed Detention Site Green, was reported to be at the Royal Thai Air Force base in Udon Thani. Abu Zubaydah was held and waterboarded there in 2002; the site closed by the end of 2002. Thai officials denied it.
Source: The Rendition Project: Abu Zubaydah · Bangkok Post: Thailand's black site · Bureau of Investigative Journalism: boom and bust of CIA secret torture sites
CIA secret prison at Stare Kiejkuty, Poland
On 24 July 2014 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Poland enabled CIA secret detention and ill-treatment of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri and Abu Zubaydah at Stare Kiejkuty, and ordered compensation.
2 detained
Source: Amnesty International: Landmark rulings expose Poland's role · Open Society Justice Initiative: Al-Nashiri v. Poland
Deaths at Bagram detention facility
Two Afghan detainees, Mullah Habibullah and a taxi driver named Dilawar, died in US custody at Bagram in December 2002. US military pathologists ruled both deaths homicides; HRW said a full investigation began only in March 2003.
2 killed
Source: Human Rights Watch: US detainee deaths in Afghanistan · NBC News: Afghan prison cases moving slowly
CIA secret prison in Bucharest, Romania
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on 31 May 2018 that Romania hosted a secret CIA prison from September 2003 to November 2005, where al-Nashiri was held from April 2004, and ordered Romania to pay him €100,000.
Source: ASIL: ECtHR finds Romania complicit in CIA detention program · Open Society Justice Initiative: European court finds Romania hosted CIA secret prison
US drone strikes in Pakistan
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism counted 429 US strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas from 2004 to September 2017, killing 2,514–4,023 people, of whom 424–969 were civilians and 172–207 children. Pakistan's defence ministry gave a far lower civilian count.
424–969 killed
Source: Wikipedia (citing Bureau of Investigative Journalism): Drone strikes in Pakistan · Bureau of Investigative Journalism: Naming the Dead
CIA secret prison at Antaviliai, Lithuania
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on 31 May 2018 that Lithuania hosted a secret CIA prison between February 2005 and March 2006 where Abu Zubaydah was held. Lithuanian officials helped buy a riding academy in Antaviliai that rights groups identify as the site.
Source: ASIL: ECtHR finds Lithuania complicit in CIA detention program · Baltic Times: How a CIA prison was hushed up near Vilnius
Damadola airstrike
A US strike on Damadola village in Bajaur on 13 January 2006, aimed at Ayman al-Zawahiri, killed at least 18 villagers. US officials later said no al-Qaeda leaders died; Airwars records up to 25 civilians, including women and children.
18–25 killed
Source: Al Jazeera: 18 killed in Pakistan air strike · Dawn: Amnesty criticizes Bajaur attack
US strikes in Somalia
Airwars assesses that US strikes in Somalia since 2007 likely killed 85–162 civilians. AFRICOM has admitted very few civilian deaths.
85–162 killed
Source: Airwars: US forces in Somalia
Haska Meyna wedding party airstrike
US aircraft struck a wedding party in Haska Meyna (Deh Bala) district, Nangarhar, on 6 July 2008. An Afghan government inquiry found 47 civilians killed, including the bride; early local counts were 22.
22–47 killed
Source: Wikipedia: Haska Meyna wedding party airstrike · Democracy Now: US probes Afghan civilian deaths in air strikes
Azizabad airstrike
In a night operation on 21–22 August 2008 US forces struck Azizabad village in Shindand, Herat. The UN mission and the Afghan government said about 90 civilians were killed, 60 of them children; a US inquiry said 33.
33–92 killed
Source: The New Humanitarian: Azizabad · Human Rights Watch: Letter to Secretary Gates on Azizabad
Granai airstrike
US B-1 bombers struck Granai village in Bala Buluk, Farah, on 4 May 2009. The Afghan government put the toll at 140 villagers, 93 of them children; the US military estimated 26 civilians.
26–147 killed
Source: Al Jazeera: US raid 'killed 140 Afghans' · Wikipedia: Granai airstrike
al-Majalah cruise missile strike
A US Tomahawk cruise missile carrying cluster munitions struck al-Majalah, Abyan, on 17 December 2009. A Yemeni parliamentary inquiry counted 41 civilians killed; Amnesty said 55 died, including 14 alleged al-Qaeda members.
41–47 killed
Source: Amnesty International: Images of missile and cluster munitions point to US role
Datta Khel jirga strike
On 17 March 2011 US drone missiles hit a jirga of tribal elders meeting over a chromite mine in Datta Khel, North Waziristan. Forensic Architecture says at least 43 civilians were killed; Pakistani officials said at least 38.
38–44 killed
Source: Forensic Architecture: Drone strikes on a jirga in Datta Khel · Dawn: Datta Khel strike
Ninth death in Guantánamo custody
Yemeni detainee Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif was found dead in September 2012, the ninth known death of a detainee at Guantánamo since January 2002. The military called two of the deaths natural and six suicides at the time.
Source: Al Jazeera: Inmate found dead at US Guantanamo · CBS News: Ninth prisoner dies in Guantanamo Bay
Radaa wedding convoy strike
On 12 December 2013 a US drone fired Hellfire missiles at a wedding procession near Radaa, al-Bayda. HRW listed 12 men killed and found no evidence they were militants; other counts reach 18.
12–18 killed
Source: Human Rights Watch: A Wedding That Became a Funeral · Al Jazeera: Report demands US probe Yemen drone strike
Kunduz MSF hospital strike
A US AC-130 gunship repeatedly fired on the Médecins Sans Frontières trauma centre in Kunduz for about an hour from 02:08 on 3 October 2015, killing 42 people, including patients and staff.
42 killed
Executive Order 13769 ('Muslim ban')
On 27 January 2017 the US president barred entry for 90 days to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. It was replaced by a revised order on 6 March 2017.
Source: Wikipedia: Trump v. Hawaii · Cornell LII: Trump v. International Refugee Assistance Project
Supreme Court upholds travel ban
On 26 June 2018 the US Supreme Court, 5–4, upheld the third version of the entry ban (a September 2017 proclamation) in Trump v. Hawaii.
Source: Justia: Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. (2018) · Ballotpedia: Trump v. Hawaii
Kabul drone strike on the Ahmadi family
A US drone strike in Kabul on 29 August 2021 killed aid worker Zemari Ahmadi and nine relatives, seven of them children. The Pentagon first called it a strike on ISIS-K, then admitted it was a mistake.
10 killed
Source: CBS News: Pentagon says strike killed as many as 10 civilians · Axios: Pentagon investigating reports of 10 civilians killed