9,000-plus dead in Mosul: Cost to oust IS

MOSUL (AP) — Between 9,000 and 11,000 people were killed in the nine-month battle to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) group — a civilian casualty rate nearly 10 times higher than has been previously reported, an Associated Press investigation has found.

The deaths are acknowledged neither by the coalition, the Iraqi government nor the IS’ self-styled caliphate.

Iraqi or coalition forces are responsible for at least 3,200 civilian deaths from airstrikes, artillery fire or mortar rounds between October 2016 and the fall of IS in July 2017, according to the AP investigation, which cross-referenced morgue lists and multiple databases from non-governmental organizations.

Most of those victims are simply described as “crushed” in health ministry reports.

The coalition, which did not send anyone into Mosul to investigate, acknowledges responsibility for only 326 of the deaths.

“It was the biggest assault on a city in a couple of generations, all told. And thousands died,” said Chris Woods, head of Airwars, an independent organization that documents air and artillery strikes in Iraq and Syria.

“Understanding how those civilians died, and obviously IS played a big part in that as well, could help save a lot of lives the next time something like this has to happen. And the disinterest in any sort of investigation is very disheartening,” Woods said.