US Confirms Airstrike in Mosul Area Where Civilian Deaths Reported

American officials confirmed that coalition forces conducted an airstrike in a location in western Mosul on March 17. According to reports, this is the same place where eyewitnesses say at least 100 civilians have died due to the attacks. The Associated Press reported that American officials did not confirm reports of civilian casualties in the area but announced the initiation of investigations into the matter. In a statement released by the US-led coalition on April 5, it was stated that the airstrike was conducted at the request of Iraqi security forces to target fighters and equipment of the group known as 'Islamic State.' Coalition officials, without confirming the deaths of civilians, stated that the airstrike in western Mosul was conducted in 'an area related to reports of civilian casualties.' The exact location of the airstrike was not specified in the statement. This new statement comes after Iraqi security forces announced the suspension of combat operations in Mosul due to the increase in civilian deaths. An unnamed spokesperson for the Iraqi Federal Police said, 'The recent high civilian death toll in the old center of Mosul forced us to halt operations and revise our plans.' Hours before the Iraqi security forces announced the 'suspension' of combat operations, US media reported that the coalition was conducting investigations regarding an airstrike or airstrikes in the 'Jadida' area in western Mosul, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians. Local Iraqi media and international outlets like the Associated Press reported that at least '137 people' were targeted in one attack on a building. One eyewitness told the Associated Press that people in the building had taken refuge there due to the airstrikes. It is still unclear what exactly happened on the night of the incident. Residents of the 'Jadida' neighborhood reported that during the airstrike, a vehicle filled with explosives was targeted; the explosion of the vehicle led to the destruction of buildings where civilians were present. Afterward, American officials stated they were unsure whether their forces had conducted the attack or not. The New York Times quoted Colonel Joseph Scrocca, a spokesperson for the coalition in Baghdad, stating that investigations were underway regarding attacks between March 17 and the previous Thursday. A senior aid official in Mosul recently stated that rescuers had recovered 240 bodies from the rubble of buildings. The attack by the army, government-backed militias, and Kurdish Peshmerga forces with air support from the US-led coalition to retake Mosul began last October. After capturing eastern areas, government forces are now fighting in the western part of the city. The majority of Mosul's urban population resides in the western areas. Non-governmental organizations and the United Nations had expressed concerns about the civilian situation, potential casualties, the use of civilians as human shields by ISIS, and the displacements caused by the conflicts before the battles for Mosul began. It is estimated that over 400,000 civilians are trapped in western Mosul.