News about Mosul was dominated by the Coalition bombing that
left over 200 casualties. U.S. officials have admitted
that the Coalition carried out air strikes in the Jadida neighborhood on March
17, but not to causing any losses. General Saadi of the Golden Division was quoted
in the New York Times that the Iraqi forces called in a hit on three houses
that the Islamic State were using for snipers, but they didn’t know there were
civilians inside. He went on to claim that this was a trap set by IS to stop
the battle. Another Iraqi general told the Washington
Post that there was a car bomb outside the buildings and that contributed
to the casualties, but civil defense officials who are responsible for digging
through the debris for bodies and survivors said there was no sign of any
vehicle bomb. According
to Mosul municipal chief Abdul Sattar al-Habbo 240 bodies had been found so
far. Bodies
were still being pulled out of the debris by March 25, and restrictions
on journalists were also put in place in the area. Both the Coalition and the
Iraqi Defense Ministry have opened investigations
into the matter. The Iraqi forces have been largely disingenuous over this
incident. At first they denied anything happened, claiming the Islamic State
was making up stories, and the media was not telling the truth, and they could
be sued for doing so. Now they are saying that a car bomb might have
contributed to the deaths, but that doesn’t appear to be true either. They are
still trying to put all the blame on the insurgents. While the Iraqis might not
have known there were people inside the three buildings, this was not part of
an IS plot as the militants have used human shields since the start of the
Mosul campaign in October, and have been forcing people to stay inside their
fire positions for weeks now. Overall, this is part of a larger campaign by the
government to deny bad news coming out of the war with IS especially if it
involves civilians dying.
There was another discussion about Coalition tactics. The
U.S. military denied that there has been any change in the rules of engagement
for air strikes, stressing that all the guarantees to try to limit civilian
casualties are still in place. At the same time, the ISF was saying it is much
easier to call in Coalition planes, and President Trump called
for a re-evaluation of the rules when he entered office. Whether the steps for
strikes has been changed or not there is no denying that there are more of
them, and the press is reporting an increase in civilian dead and wounded as a
result.
The ISF said they halted
their operations due to the heavy civilian losses, and that a new strategy
was being devised. The Iraqis and Americans were already talking about coming
up with a new battle plan as the ISF has run into a stalemate trying to take
the Old City district along the Tigris River. The Golden Division also announced
taking one neighborhood and attacking
another at the start of the day. The Iraqis have stopped and started their
advances again and again in recent days due to poor weather and the heavy
fighting. Claiming the latest pause was due to the Jadida incident was likely a
public relations move.
People in Mosul have warned that gangs are looting the city.
New Sabah talked with human
rights activists about organized groups going through abandoned houses in both the
east and west. Some wear military uniforms so that they get about unmolested.
They have been several reports of robberies going on in Mosul before.
Finally, there were news stories that 240 people had been
killed and 64 wounded by Islamic State car bombs, mortars, and gunfire. Most
were trying to escape the fighting that took their lives.
Federal Police saving a wounded boy west Mosul (AP)
Families carrying out their dead on carts from west Mosul’s
Jadida neighborhood (AP)
Displaced males waiting to be screed at security checkpoint
(AP)
Islamic State has blocked off streets with cars (AP)
Destroyed cars and buildings in west Mosul (AP)
SOURCES
Adel,
Loaa, "Security forces kill 4 IS militants, evacuate 200 civilians bodies
in Mosul," Iraqi News, 3/25/17
Al Alam, “US Coalition Carried out Deadly Mosul Airstrike:
Pentagon,” 3/25/17
Baghdad
Post, "10 civilians killed, injured in blast in Mosul," 3/25/17
-
"Civilians killed in shelling targeting ISIS booby-trapped car in
Mosul," 3/25/17
-
"ISIS executes 36 civilians who attempted to flee right bank of
Mosul," 3/25/17
BBC, “Battle for Mosul: US investigating deadly air strike,”
3/25/17
Guihaire, Edouard, “Escaping IS-held Mosul, residents head
into unknown,” Agence France Presse, 3/25/17
Al
Maalomah, "Daash carried out the execution of 191 civilians after
attempting to flee the right bank of Mosul," 3/25/17
-
"Recovered the bodies of nine civilian killed by Daash shelling in West
Mosul," 3/25/17
Al Mada, “The joint forces intend to neutralize civilian
casualties by dispensing with artillery and air strikes,” 3/25/17
New Arab, “Mosul rescue workers recount horror of
devastating air raid,” 3/25/17
New Sabah, “Joint Operations using modern and sophisticated
equipment suited to the fighting in West Mosul,” 3/25/17
Rudaw, “UPDATE: US says coalition strikes match reports of
casualties in W Mosul,” 3/25/17
Shafaaq
News, "Daesh commits a massacre and kills and injures more than 90 people
who tried to escape West Mosul," 3/25/17
- “The Federal Police is defending itself against charges of
using excessive force in Mosul,” 3/25/17
Xinhua, “Iraqi forces engage in street warfare in west Mosul
to cut casualties,” 3/25/17
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