A military is fighting in an urban environment against an opposing force known to hide among the civilian population. The opposing force has a history of using schools, hospitals, and homes to ambush military forces. The military conducts patrols through the streets of the city. In an effort to build good will with the local civilians, the military’s Rules Of Engagement (ROE) state that they may only act in self-defense. During one of these patrols, the soldiers are ambushed by the opposing force. Several shots are fired at the patrol and two soldiers are hit. One soldier sees motion in a window. Another glimpses a young man in a crowd holding a long, thin, metallic object.

Human soldiers may see the motion in the window and guess that a member of the opposing force is taking cover after firing. Similarly, the long, thin object could be interpreted as the barrel of a rifle. In these cases, the soldiers could attack those targets and be within their ROE. Although the crowd immediately begins to disperse, two civilians are killed when the patrol attacks the man with the metallic object. A second group of soldiers attacks the tall building. During the assault, several flash-bang grenades are used to clear rooms. No members of the opposing force are found inside, but several civilians are injured by the grenades. After inspecting the young man, the patrol discovers that he was only carrying a piece of metal pipe. In this scenario with human militants, three civilians are killed and several more wounded due to human error. The human militants could not discern the difference between the opposing force and civilians. Incomplete and fleeting information led to unnecessary deaths. Poor weapon control resulted in two collateral civilian casualties. Finally, the two members of the patrol were killed in the short firefight. Others could have been wounded or captured.