'At least 4.5 million dead from wars after 9/11'

Post-9/11 conflicts and invasions in West Asia and other surrounding regions, caused mostly by the US, have directly and indirectly killed at least 4.5 million people over the past two decades, a new report cited by Infopal has revealed.
According to a research report from the Costs of War project at Brown University's Watson Institute, wars initiated by Western powers in West Asia, North Africa and Asia are directly responsible for the deaths of at least between 4.5 and 4.6 million of people.

Following the attack on the Twin Towers in New York City on September 11, 2001, the United States and the coalition forces it led invaded Afghanistan and overthrew the Taliban government that same year, in retaliation for maintaining the protection of Osama bin Laden, the head of the Al-Qaeda group that Western nations have blamed for the attacks. In the following years, the US-led coalition forces also conducted further military actions in the countries of the West Asia region, the most notable of which was the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Other instances include attacks on targets in ​ ​Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen, as well as those not directly consequences of the 'war on terror' such as Libya and Syria.

Of the estimated 4.5 million deaths, the report shows, the vast majority were "indirect" - at least 3.6-3.7 million - and were caused by a variety of factors. Categories cited in the report include economic collapse and food insecurity, destruction of public services and health infrastructure, environmental contamination, and the aftermath of trauma and violence.