military officers and air controllers embed with Iraqi forces to direct airstrikes against Islamic State positions and advise Iraqi ground commanders on how best to advance on the battlefield. The military is investigating more than a dozen reports of civilian casualties in Mosul alone.Ĭivilian deaths have long poisoned Iraqis’ relationship with the United States. 17, according to the Pentagon.ĭelivering those strikes without laying waste to the ancient city and the civilians who live there has proven difficult as the militants mix among communities. More than 18,400 munitions have rained down on Mosul since the offensive began on Oct. The U.S.-led coalition has unleashed more than 500 aerial bombs, artillery and mortar shells, ground-launched rockets and drone-launched missiles this week, which follows 880 the week prior. pilots describe dozens of strike aircraft circling high above west Mosul, waiting their turn to drop a bomb. military has launched an unprecedented number of airstrikes to help Iraqi forces advance. “Our goal has always been for zero civilian casualties, but the coalition will not abandon our commitment to our partners because of ISIS’s brutal tactics terrorizing civilians, using human shields, and fighting from protected sites such as schools, hospitals and religious sites,” Scrocca said in a statement, using an acronym for Islamic State.Īs the battle has moved into a city of narrow pathways and clusters of shops, homes and Muslim shrines, the U.S. is quick to say that no military in history has taken such pains to avoid civilian casualties, and that nearly every bomb dropped is guided by satellite or laser. The two incidents are being investigated by the Pentagon.ĭespite the mounting allegations, the U.S. was accused of bombing a mosque in Aleppo province, killing more than 40. On Wednesday, humanitarian groups said at least 30 civilians were killed when an airstrike hit a school in Syria, south of Raqqah. The incident is the latest of several fatal attacks in which dozens of civilians are alleged to have been killed at the hands of U.S.
officials, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the ongoing investigation, said initial indications are that a truck carrying fuel or explosives may have been inadvertently hit, causing a massive explosion. Scrocca said Islamic State’s use of civilians as human shields has been a challenge for coalition forces in Mosul. Residents who witnessed the explosion said it came after militants forced them into their homes. “Just because one Islamic State was on our house, the aircraft bombed us,” she said tearfully. She said a militant sniper had set up across the street from her house before the attack. Finally, she stopped and pointed to the ruins of her home. Bodies were still pinned under houses blackened hands and a pair of feet in yellow high-top sneakers protruded from one place in the rubble. Jasim walked down a dirt street that reeked of death. But he started to sob, and had to step outside, sit on the curb and hang his head. In a nearby garage where bodies were being stored, another man who lost 32 relatives tried to identify them based on what had been recovered: some government identification cards, a brown wallet and a black purse. Civil defense workers had to lead him away. One man approached a bag that contained the body of a pregnant woman, touched it, talked to it, then began to cry and wail. Joe Scrocca, a Baghdad-based spokesman for the coalition, who added that coalition forces routinely strike Islamic State targets in that area. “The coalition has opened a formal civilian casualty credibility assessment on this allegation, and we are currently analyzing conflicting allegations and all possible strikes in that area,” said U.S. It would be the highest civilian death toll from an airstrike since the battle against the militant group Islamic State began more than two years ago and among the deadliest incidents in modern warfare.
The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq is investigating whether it was responsible for an airstrike in the west Mosul neighborhood of Aghawat Jadidah March 17 that local civil defense officials said killed at least 200.
“We recovered half his body,” she said of the 7-year-old. The massive explosion that tore through Baghdad Street last week killed nine of Jasim’s relatives, including son Firas, 7, and daughter Taiba, 4. Munatha Jasim watched Iraqi civil defense workers in red suits scurry among the ruins of her neighbors’ homes Friday, extracting the dead and zipping them into blue body bags.