The Arizona Republic

The U.S. is looking into reports that 100-plus civilians were killed March 17 in a coalition airstrike in Iraq.

More than 100 civilians found dead in coalition-targeted area

- Jim Michaels @jimmichael­s USA TODAY

The U.S. military is investigat­ing reports that more than 100 civilians were killed in a coalition airstrike on March 17 in Mosul, where U.S.-backed Iraqi forces are clearing the city of Islamic State militants.

If confirmed, it would be the largest civilian casualty incident in the coalition air campaign in Iraq and Syria, which is more than 2 years old.

The coalition said in a statement Saturday that the assessment is focused on the airstrike made at the request of Iraqi security forces in the area where the allegation­s surfaced. The coalition said it opened an initial “civilian casualty credibilit­y assessment” to determine the validity of the reports.

Iraqi teams picking through the rubble of several buildings destroyed in the Al-Jadida neighborho­od in west Mosul uncovered dozens of bodies. Iraq’s Civil Defense Department said workers discovered the bodies once it was safe to re-enter the area.

The Islamic State, also known as ISIS, often uses civilians as human shields and rigs entire buildings to explode. The militants frequently store explosives inside buildings, and an airstrike could have set off a “secondary” explosion.

Iraqi security forces have been aggressive­ly battling militants inside western Mosul, a densely packed neighborho­od of narrow streets and alleyways.

It is generally difficult to use artillery and air support during urban combat. But the U.S.-led coalition has kept a steady pace

The Islamic State often uses civilians as human shields and rigs entire buildings to explode.

“Our goal has always been for zero civilian casualties, but the coalition will not abandon our commitment to our Iraqi partners.” The U.S.-led coalition, in a statement on airstrikes last week in Mosul

of airstrikes during the Mosul offensive, using precision munitions and surveillan­ce video to vet requests for air support.

Airstrikes have been so precise that they have targeted individual snipers in buildings in Mosul, providing further confidence to Iraqi forces moving through the city.

The offensive to retake Mosul began in October, and the eastern side of the city is now largely cleared of militants. The pace of the offensive in the west has been moving rapidly, at least in part because of continued coalition airstrikes, according to the Pentagon.

The coalition said it would continue to support Iraqi forces as they move through the city. The coalition conducted a number of strikes Friday against Islamic State targets, including enemy fighting positions, mortars and a heavy machine gun team.

“Our goal has always been for zero civilian casualties, but the coalition will not abandon our commitment to our Iraqi partners because of ISIS’s inhuman tactics terrorizin­g civilians, using human shields, and fighting from protected sites such as schools, hospitals, religious sites and civilian neighborho­ods,” the coalition said in a statement.

The coalition air campaign has been among the most tightly regulated in history. Most strikes require approval by a general officer after planners examine intelligen­ce, video and other evidence to ensure that the target is legitimate and that there are no civilians within range.

It is not clear what went wrong or if the coalition was responsibl­e, but the incident could trigger a debate about how much control the administra­tion should exercise over the military campaign.

The Trump administra­tion has indicated it wants to give commanders more leeway in making battlefiel­d decisions, even though the White House has not changed any current authoritie­s or rules of engagement.

“One thing they’re already doing … is giving commanders in the field much greater latitude as far as military operations,” Sen. John McCain, the Republican chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said recently.

 ?? FELIPE DANA, AP ?? Residents carry the bodies of several people killed during fighting between Iraqi security forces and the Islamic State extremist group on the western side of Mosul on Friday.
FELIPE DANA, AP Residents carry the bodies of several people killed during fighting between Iraqi security forces and the Islamic State extremist group on the western side of Mosul on Friday.
 ??  ??
 ?? FELIP DANA/AP ??
FELIP DANA/AP

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States