ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq is now investigating the use of white phosphorus munitions allegedly used by security forces in west Mosul during battles to retake the remaining four districts ISIS still partially controls.
Rudaw was streaming live on Saturday when military forces in west Mosul used what looked to be highly incendiary ammunition.
“We cannot deny nor confirm – we are investigating into the news and will come out with a statement to clear things up for the public,” Aljazeera quoted spokesman for the Iraq's Joint Operations Command , Brig. Gen. Yahiya Rasoul, on Sunday as saying.
Coalition forces have also been accused of using the substance in the past , even though it has been banned in civilian areas in recent months according to Antiwar.
The fight for the last four district of Zanjali, Shifa, Bab al-Sinjar and Old Mosul, home to al-Nuri mosque where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared his caliphate nearly three years ago, is unfolding in a conflict that has already been marked by horrific civilian casualties.
ISIS has been forced into a small area of territory in the old centre of western Mosul, “less than 10 square kilometres,” coalition spokesperson Army Col. Ryan Dillon told reporters on Thursday.
Iraq has instructed civilians still remaining in the area to evacuate, Dillon said. “Many civilians, though, cannot break away from ISIS safely.”
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