US admits Mosul airstrikes killed over 100 civilians during battle with Isis
Source: The Guardian
The Pentagon has admitted that airstrikes it carried out on a house in western Mosul killed at least 105 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks anywhere in Iraq since the 2003 invasion to oust Saddam Hussein.
The final toll could be as high as 141, an investigation into the 17 March attack has found, with 36 people still unaccounted for. Nearly all those killed had taken shelter in a house as a battle raged between Islamic State (Isis) forces who were in the area and Iraqi military special force units.
Searing images of bodies being dug from the pancaked ruins of the house were broadcast around the world amid allegations that the fight for Mosul’s densely packed neighborhoods was too often being ceded to high-flying jets to avoid ground clashes with Isis.
A Pentagon investigation released on Thursday found that Isis fighters had planted explosives in the house, causing secondary explosions that caused the house to collapse.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/25/us-mosul-airstrikes-deadliest-attack-iraq-2003
Martin Chulov Middle East correspondent
Thursday 25 May 2017 18.40 BST
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