text: Legal Considerations
  government and its military forces, as well as armed nonstate parties to a conflict, are obligated to separate
  their military or other fighting forces and military objects from the civilian population and civilian objects,
  to take steps to protect the civilian population (or civilians within its control) through affirmative steps such
  as evacuation from the vicinity of military operations or air raid precautions, and to minimize or avoid
  actions that might otherwise place the civilian population at risk from lawful military operations by the
  opposing force. The employment of voluntary or involuntary human shields to protect military objectives,
  individual military units, or military personnel is a violation of the law of war principle of discrimination.
  13-21. Physical damage or destruction of property is an inevitable and lawful aspect of combat. Military
  equipment (other than military medical equipment and transportation) is subject to lawful attack and
  destruction at all times. Civilian objects, including cultural property, are protected from seizure or
  intentional attack unless there is military necessity for their seizure or destruction, that is, they become
  military objectives. Destruction of civilian objects that is expressly prohibited, or that is not justified by
  military necessity, or that is wanton or excessive, is unnecessary destruction for which a commander may
  be culpable.
  13-22. The civilian population and individual civilians not taking a direct part in hostilities are protected
  from intentional attack. Where civilians are present on the battlefield or in proximity to legitimate military
  objectives, or they are being used to shield legitimate targets from an attack that otherwise would be lawful,
  they are at risk of injury incidental to the lawful conduct of military operations. A law of war violation
  occurs when—
  * The civilian population is attacked intentionally.
  * Civilian casualties incidental to an otherwise lawful attack become excessive in relation to the
  concrete and direct military advantage to be gained and are attributed to the wanton conduct of
  an attacking force, for which the defending force or individual civilians or groups of civilians
  (such as voluntary human shields) bear no responsibility.
  * A defender or attacker employs civilians as voluntary or involuntary human shields. Each of
  these acts constitutes a violation of the principle of discrimination.
  13-23. The law of war does not expressly prohibit civilians from taking a direct part in hostilities. If they
  do, however, they may be targeted for so long as they take a direct part. Civilians do not enjoy the
  combatant’s privilege—that is, they do not have combatant immunity—and if captured, they may be
  prosecuted for their belligerent acts under the domestic law of the captor. Civilians engaging in belligerent
  acts not only forfeit their immunity from direct attack; they also make it more difficult for military
  personnel to apply the principle of discrimination and, thereby, put all civilians at risk. There is no
  definition of direct part in hostilities in treaty law or customary international law. At a minimum, it
  encompasses actions that are belligerent per se, that is, by their very nature and purpose can be expected to
  cause actual harm to an enemy. In general, the qualification of an act as direct participation in hostilities is
  a fact-dependent analysis that must be made after analyzing all relevant available facts, in the
  circumstances prevailing at the time.
  13-24. Within an international armed conflict or a non-international armed conflict, the armed forces of a
  state may engage in hostilities with armed nonstate actors. This is the classic counterinsurgency
  environment. While most international armed conflict involves warfare between the armed forces of two or
  more states, situations can occur, such as during occupation, where such armed forces and other armed
  security forces of the state (including police forces) are engaged in combat with armed nonstate actors, or
  other persons who are not part of a state armed force. These groups can take a variety of forms, including
  an organized resistance movement that belongs to a state party but fails to meet the requirements for
  prisoner of war status under the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War Article
  4A (2), or a terrorist organization such as al Qaeda that, without regard to compliance with any of the other
  requirements of Article 4A(2) (such as being under responsible command, wears fixed distinctive sign
  recognizable at a distance, carries arms openly, and conducts operations in compliance with the law of
  war), operates without any authorization or affiliation with a state and thereby falls outside of the Geneva
  Convention’s protections. An individual who is formally or functionally part of an organized armed group
  that is engaged in hostilities may be targeted at any time. In essence, membership in armed forces or armed
  groups (such as the status of belonging to such a group) and direct participation in hostilities (such as a
  conduct-based standard) are separate bases for targeting under the law of war.