The airstrike in Mosul was potentially one of the worst U.S.-led civilian bombings in 25 years

[crazyladybutterfly]

Even though Iraqi civil defense workers are still sorting through the rubble, the March 17 U.S. airstrike in West Mosul, if confirmed, could potentially rank among one of the most devastating attacks on civilians by American forces in more than two decades.

Residents from the neighborhood where the strike occurred said that 137 civilians were killed, while Iraqi officials have said that upward of 80 people had been pulled from the rubble. Chris Woods, the director of the monitoring group Airwars.org, said the range of dead have been reported from 101 to 511, though the likely numbers are somewhere between 130 and 230.

The battle for West Mosul, which began earlier this year, has been marked by heavy fighting in dense urban terrain. Islamic State fighters have used residents as human shields around their defensive positions and relied heavily on booby traps, roadside bombs and suicide vehicles to delay the U.S.-backed Iraqi advance. Even before Iraqi forces moved into the western part of Mosul, there were multiple allegations of civilian casualties during the four months it took to take the eastern side of the city.

When asked about the loss of civilian life Monday, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told reporters that the U.S.-led coalition goes out of its way “to always do everything humanly possible to reduce the loss of life or injury among innocent people. The same cannot be said for our adversaries.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...l_check&wpmm=1

[Anthropos]

America has previously blamed most of the deaths in the Mosul campaign on the Islamic State. AP now presents material from seven witnesses that survived in bombed houses or in next door buildings. AP presents a case where the official version from American authorities cannot be reconciled with that of the eye witnesses. The deaths appear to be caused by American artillery and airstrikes.

House Packed With Families Became Death Trap In Iraq's Mosul

[Anthropos]

The number of casualties in the Western Mosul campaign differ greatly in the American and in the Iraqi account. According to an Iraqi general 3,864 were killed in the period from mid-February to end of March. Nearby hospitals received 22,000 injured during the same time. 10,000 residential homes were destroyed.

4,000 Iraqi civilians killed in Western Mosul campaign: Army source