Civilian deaths: Mosul push halted

Iraqi military leaders have ordered a pause in their push to recapture west Mosul from Islamic State as international outrage mounted over a series of airstrikes that killed at least 150 people in one district of the embattled city alone.

Rescuers continued to retrieve bodies from the rubble of the Mosul Jadida neighbourhood on Saturday, more than a week after the coalition attacks, which are believed to have led to one of the highest civilian tolls in the region since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.

A US Centcom statement confirmed coalition planes had carried out the attack on 17 March “at the request of the Iraqi security forces” and pledged to formally investigate the claims.

The strike has intensified focus on civilian casualties in Mosul, where as many as 400,000 residents are thought to remain.

British planes were among those operating in west Mosul at the time.

Asked if they could have been involved in the airstrikes, a spokesman said the Ministry of Defence had not seen any evidence of their involvement but did not rule out the possibility, adding: “We are aware of reports [of civilian casualties], and will