US opens formal investigation into civilian deaths in Mosul

29 March 2017, 9:11 pm

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The US military launches a formal investigation into what role the US 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 US 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.

Relatives mourn as bodies of Iraqi residents of west Mosul killed in an airstrike targeting Islamic State jihadists are placed on carts and covered with blankets, March 17, 2017. (AFP/Aris Messinis)

“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.

–AP