The Iraqi defense minister Irfan Al Hayali has called for a further and immediate investigation into the strikes.
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6:00 p.m.
Iraqi forces considering tactical shift in west Mosul amid civilian casualties
MOSUL, Iraq — Iraqi forces say tactics to recapture western Mosul should be rethought and combat paused, after reports emerged this week of hundreds of civilians being killed in the third phase of the offensive to retake the country’s second largest city from ISIS.
"The recent high death toll among civilians inside the Old City forced us to halt operations to review our plans," Reuters quoted an Iraqi Federal Police spokesman as saying Saturday. "It's a time for weighing new offensive plans and tactics. No combat operations are to go on."
Rudaw cameras captured a fiery explosion in western Mosul on Saturday.
On Thursday Rudaw reported at least 200 people have been killed in air strikes in the Mosul al-Jadida neighborhood of Mosul, most of them believed to be civilians.
Initial reports indicate a coalition airstrike hit explosives laid by ISIS near three houses where the militants had gathered large numbers of civilians.
The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights has cited unconfirmed reports of nearly 700 civilian deaths in western Mosul since February 19.
ISIS’ latest tactic is to gather tens of civilians into homes as human shields and then take up positions on the roofs, firing at Iraqi forces, Rudaw’s Hevidar Ahmed reported from the city on Friday.
US Central Command announced on Saturday that after reviewing strike data, the coalition targeted an area in western Mosul that matches reports of civilian casualties.
"At the request of the Iraqi Security Forces, the Coalition struck ISIS fighters and equipment, March 17, in West Mosul at the location corresponding to allegations of civilian casualties," it stated.
Head of the Nineveh Provincial Council Bashar Kiki confirmed to Rudaw on Friday evening the death of more than 200 civilians in air strikes, saying that only 132 bodies had been retrieved so far in western Mosul’s Jadida neighborhood.
The US-led international coalition supports Iraqi forces through training, intelligence, reconnaissance, advice, assistance, and strikes.
Earlier this month US Army Lt. General Stephen Townsend, commander of the coalition in Iraq and Syria, was asked about ISIS using civilians as human shields in Mosul.
“So are they [ISIS fighters] hiding amongst the civilian populations?” he said. “They're doing that in west Mosul, they're doing that in Raqqa. They're hiding amongst the civilian population. Then they're doing that in other places too in Iraq and Syria, and that's what our partners are all about.”
UN figures estimate that around 600,000 civilians remain in western Mosul, with about 400,000 in the densely-populated Old City.
On Saturday, the Iraqi Ministry of Migration stated 201,275 people have fled western Mosul since February 19.
Correction: In the fourth paragraph, it was written "On Thursday, Rudaw reported an estimated 200 civilians were reportedly killed." This sentence has been replaced by Rudaw's original report of the deaths being first reported on, on Thursday.
