A US civil rights group filed a lawsuit Tuesday demanding the American military release documents about civilians killed by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, accusing the government of trying to hide the human cost of war.

The American Civil Liberties Union’s legal move came after a request for documents related to civilian deaths under the country’s Freedom of Information laws was rebuffed by the US Navy, the Air Force and Marines. The US Army complied with the ACLU’s year-old request.

The group has already released thousands of documents obtained from the army showing compensation claims from families whose loved ones were killed by stray bullets or in traffic accidents in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On Tuesday, the ACLU released thousands of additional documents revealing court martial proceedings and military investigations in cases in which US soldiers were accused — and often acquitted — of killing civilians intentionally or through negligence.

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