US-led coalition opens probe into fatal Mosul airstrike

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON

The U.S.-led anti-Daesh coalition confirmed Friday it has opened a formal investigation into "multiple allegations" that a U.S. airstrike allegedly killed scores of civilians in Iraq some time between March 17-23.

A strike last week allegedly left over a hundred civilians dead in densely-populated western Mosul where Iraqi forces are locked in intense battles with Daesh fighters.

"The Coalition respects human life and is assisting partner forces in their effort to liberate their land from ISIS while safeguarding civilians," the coalition said in a statement. ISIS is short for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, another name for Daesh.

The statement asserted that while aiming for zero civilian casualties, the coalition “will not abandon our commitment” to partners against a terror group that uses human shields and fights from protected civilian buildings.

The U.S.-backed coalition has been supporting Iraqi forces with robust air power, but the most recent phase of the campaign to wrest control of western Mosul from Daesh has been expectedly fierce. The dense urban setting has presented Iraqi forces and those who support them with renewed challenges to protect civilians.

The coalition confirmed "we routinely strike Da'esh targets in this area", and that it takes "all reasonable precautions" to avoid civilian casualties.

*Kasim Ileri contributed to this report.