U.S. probing civilian deaths from airstrikes
As many as 200 civilians may have been killed in offensive aimed at driving out Islamic State
The U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq says it is investigating reports that scores of civilians — perhaps as many as 200, residents say — had been killed in recent U.S. airstrikes in Mosul.
BAGHDAD — The U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq said Friday that it is investigating reports that scores of civilians — perhaps as many as 200, residents said — had been killed in recent U.S. airstrikes in Mosul, the northern Iraqi city at the center of an offensive to drive out the Islamic State.
If confirmed, the series of airstrikes would rank among the highest civilian death tolls in a U.S. air mission since the United States went to war in Iraq in 2003. And the reports of civilian deaths in Mosul came immediately after two recent incidents in Syria, where the coalition is also battling the Islamic State from the air, in which activists and local residents said dozens of civilians had been killed.
Taken together, the surge of reported civilian deaths raised questions about whether oncestrict rules of engagement meant to minimize civilian casualties were being relaxed under the Trump administration, which has vowed to fight the Islamic State more aggressively.
U.S. military officials insisted Friday that the rules of engagement had not changed. They acknowledged, however, that U.S. airstrikes in Syria and Iraq had been heavier in an effort to press the ISIS on multiple fronts.
Col. John J. Thomas, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command, said that the military was seeking to determine whether the explosion in Mosul might have been prompted by a U.S. or coalition airstrike, or was a bomb placed by the Islamic State.
“It’s a complicated question, and we’ve literally had people working nonstop throughout the night to understand it,” Thomas said in an interview. He said the explosion and the reasons behind it had “gotten attention at the highest level.”
Iraqi officers, though, say they know exactly what happened: Maj. Gen. Maan al-Saadi, a commander of the Iraqi special forces, said that the civilian deaths were a result of a coalition airstrike that his men had called in, to take out snipers on the roofs of three houses in a neighborhood called Mosul Jidideh. Saadi said the special forces were unaware that the houses’ basements were filled with civilians.
“After the bombing we were surprised by the civilian victims,” the general said, “and I think it was a trap by ISIS to stop the bombing operations and turn public opinion against us.”
Saadi said he had demanded that the coalition pause its air campaign to assess what happened and to take stricter measures to prevent more civilian victims. Another Iraqi special forces officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said that there had been a noticeable relaxing of the coalition’s rules of engagement since President Donald Trump took office.
Before, Iraqi officers were highly critical of the Obama administration’s rules, saying that many requests for airstrikes were denied because of the risk that civilians would be hurt. Now, the officer said, it has become much easier to call in airstrikes. Trump has indicated that he is more inclined to delegate authority for launching strikes to the Pentagon and commanders in the field.
This is the second time this week that the military has opened an investigation into civilian deaths reported to have been caused by airstrikes. On Tuesday, Central Command said it was investigating a U.S. airstrike in Syria on March 16 that officials said killed dozens of Qaida operatives at a meeting place that activists and residents maintain was part of a religious complex.