General admits ‘chance’ of US role in deaths
WASHINGTON: The top US commander said on Tuesday there was a “fair chance” that the US-led coalition played a role in the March 17 air strike on a building in Mosul that killed dozens of Iraqi civilians. But he blamed Islamic State (IS) militants for probably holding the civilians hostage.
“My initial impression is the enemy had a hand in this and that there’s also a fair chance that our strike had some role in it,” Lt Gen Stephen Townsend told Pentagon reporters in a phone briefing from Iraq. “I think it’s probably going to play out to be some sort of combination.”
Witnesses have said at least 100 bodies were pulled from the rubble of the building in western Mosul, but there is no official known dead numbers. Estimates range from 50 to 200.
Lt Gen Townsend said the militants probably gathered the civilians into the building and may have rigged it to explode, which could have caused the building to collapse. If the building was also used for making bombs, that could have triggered “secondary” explosions.
Lt Gen Townsend said the munition used in the air strike was not designed to level the building. The coalition uses an array of munitions, including some with small explosives that can take out a sniper but leave a structure standing.
He said the investigation is not complete. As part of the probe, US personnel have visited the site where numerous bodies have been recovered. He said if the coalition air strike was partly responsible, it was accidental and would be thoroughly investigated.
Amnesty International, a human rights organisation, said an increase in civilian casualty reports suggests the coalition is not taking adequate precautions to protect innocent lives. The Pentagon said it has not loosened its regulations or procedures to minimise civilian casualties.
Still, the battle for Mosul — the last remaining stronghold for the IS in Iraq — has heightened the risk for civilians. US-backed Iraqi forces are now fighting in densely packed neighbourhoods with narrow streets and alleys. Thousands of civilians chose to remain in the city or have been unable to escape.
Lt Gen Townsend appeared frustrated that the incident has drawn more news media attention than the IS’ purposeful brutality. The IS regularly uses women and children as human shields to avoid being targeted. He said Iraq’s counter-terrorism forces recently came across two buildings rigged to explode.
One building had 45 people in it and the other had 25. The Iraqi forces rescued the hostages before the militants killed them.