US opens investigation into civilian deaths in Mosul
Associated Press
WASHINGTON
The U.S. military has launched a formal investigation into what role the U.S. played in the deaths of dozens of civilians in Mosul, Iraq, earlier this month, amid warnings from a top American general that the dense urban fight is making it harder to avoid killing innocents.
Gen. Joseph Votel, head of U.S. Central Command, told Congress that Islamic State militants are exploiting American sensitivities to civilian casualties, using people as human shields to avoid being targeted by strikes.
“As we move into the urban environment, it is going to become more and more difficult to apply extraordinarily high standards for things we are doing, although we will try,” Votel said during a House Armed Services meeting.
Republican Rep. Martha McSally of Arizona, a retired Air Force colonel, questioned whether the high standards are “ridiculous,” because they allow militants to use civilians as a defense against airstrikes so they can “live to fight another day.” The result, she said, is just more innocent deaths.
Votel said the investigation will look at what Islamic State militants did to contribute to the civilian deaths in the March 17 strike. He and others have said that the munitions used by the U.S. that day should not have taken the entire building down, suggesting that militants may have deliberately gathered civilians there and planted other explosives.
He said U.S. investigators have visited the site and that the review is looking at 700 weapons system videos over a 10-day period to help understand the effects of the munitions used. They also will review intelligence provided by the Iraqi forces.
Votel also told the committee that nearly 800 Iraqi security forces have been killed and 4,600 wounded in the battle to retake Mosul.