U.S. probes deadly Mosul airstrike
More than 100 civilians killed, locals say
BAGHDAD • The U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is investigating reports of an airstrike in a western neighbourhood in the Iraqi city of Mosul that allegedly left more than 100 civilians dead last week, according to a statement given to The Associated Press on Friday.
The suspected high toll underscores the difficulties that Iraqi troops face in the weeks-long fight to root the Sunni militant group from the densely urban part of the city, Iraq’s second-largest.
Residents of the neighbourhood known as Mosul Jidideh told an Associated Press team at the scene that scores of residents are believed to have been killed by a pair of airstrikes that hit a cluster of homes in the area earlier this month.
“Over 137 people were inside. The entire neighbourhood was fleeing because of missiles that hit, so people were taking refuge here,” said Ahmed Ahmed, one of the residents of the neighbourhood.
One airstrike hit the residential area on March 13, followed by a second strike four days later, the residents said. The coalition statement said “multiple allegations” were being investigated.
AP reporters saw at least 50 bodies being recovered from the wreckage of the buildings. A team of Iraqi rescue engineers worked to recover the bodies on Friday, after being prevented from reaching the site for days due to fierce frontline clashes, according to Safaa Saadi Jawad, one of the engineers.
The coalition has “opened a formal civilian casualty credibility assessment on this allegation,” the statement continued, adding that coalition planes “routinely strike” ISIL targets in this area and that coalition forces “take all reasonable precautions during the planning and execution of airstrikes to reduce the risk of harm to civilians.”
Civilians, humanitarian and monitoring officials are warning of increased civilian casualties in western Mosul due to the increased reliance on airstrikes and artillery.
The United Nations reported on Thursday that more than 1,000 people have been treated for conflict-related trauma near front lines since the fight for western Mosul began February 19th.
Front-line medics say that the vast majority of civilians they treat indicate they were hit with ISIL munitions such as mortars and sniper fire. ISIL has repeatedly targeted civilians trying to flee amid fierce fighting between ISIL militants and Iraqi forces.
The Pentagon, which has yet to release casualty figures from last month’s fighting, has acknowledged 220 civilian deaths from coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria since the U.S. campaign against ISIL began in 2014. Independent monitor groups such as the Londonbased Airwars, put the casualty figures much higher, at just over 2,700 killed by coalition strikes since 2014.