Strikes hit near Iraq hospital, possible civilian casualties
WASHINGTON: The US-led coalition against the Islamic State group may have killed civilians in an air strike on a hospital car park in northern Iraq on Thursday, officials said.
The Iraqi army, supported by the coalition, began the second phase of its offensive to retake Iraq’s second city of Mosul, which has been under IS control for more than two years.
Coalition aircraft had targeted a ‘ van carrying ISIL fighters’ in the area, according to Centcom, the US military command for the Middle East, using an alternate acronym for the IS group.
The strike took place “in what was later determined to be a hospital compound parking lot resulting in possible civilian casualties,” a statement read.
IS fighters had been observed firing an anti-tank gun “before loading the weapon in the van and driving off,” Centcom added, promising the incident would be ‘ fully investigated and the findings released in a timely and transparent manner’.
The coalition says it is taking extensive precautions to avoid killing civilians during its bombing of IS group targets.
It routinely uses precisionguided bombs or missiles to hit targets that are often observed by drones for hours before being hit.
But the coalition has already admitted to killing at least 173 civilians in its strikes in Iraq and Syria since the start of its campaign against the IS group, a number independent observers believe is greatly understated.
The London- based NGO Airwars estimates the coalition campaign has actually killed more than 2,000 civilians. — AFP TEHRAN: Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif yesterday welcomed a nationwide truce in Syria as a ‘ major achievement’ that could lead to renewed peace talks.
On the deal brokered by Russia and Turkey — potentially a significant breakthrough in the nearly six-year conflict — Zarif said: “Ceasefire in Syria is a major achievement.”
“Let’s build on it by tackling the roots of extremist terror,” he posted on Twitter.
Zarif spoke by telephone Thursday with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the latest developments in Syria, where Iran has offered considerable military, financial and diplomatic aid to defend President Bashar al-Assad.
“Both sides welcomed the nationwide ceasefire and emphasised the fight against terrorism, Islamic State ( IS) and Al-Nusra groups and their allies,” the official IRNA news agency said.
Zarif and Lavrov agreed to “continue consultation and coordination within the framework of the tripartite agreement among Turkey, Iran and Russia to hold talks between the Syrian government and rebels” in Kazakstan, it added.
Turkey and Russia are pushing for talks between the regime and rebels in Astana to begin next month. — AFP