Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Reported Coalition airstrikes on multiple targets in eastern Mosul – said to be occupied by Islamic State forces – allegedly killed 14 civilians, including women and children. According to NINA, medical forensic teams in Mosul “received 14 dead bodies belonging to civilians, [who] were killed in al-Zohour, al-Tahrir, al-Bunook [also known as Al Massaref] and al-Muthanna neighborhoods”. Bas News and Baghdad News also reported civilian fatalities.
Herak also confirmed heavy Coalition strikes on the city. While it made no mention of civilian deaths, it noted one witness as saying: “Several other air strikes by international aircraft targeted the airport, which led to panic amongst residents – many of whom left those areas due to the intensity of the shelling.”
In July 2017 the Coalition classed the event as non credible on grounds of lack of available evidence of civilian harm: “Feb. 24, 2015, near Mosul, Iraq, via Airwars report: After a review of available information and strike video it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find that civilians were harmed in this strike.”
Based on reports of civilian casualties at the time, Airwars continues to assess this as a likely event.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the city of Mosul, al-Zohour, al-Tahrir, al-Bunook [also known as Al Massaref] and al-Muthanna neighborhoods (الموصل), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.34585235, 43.09857692. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (4) [ collapse]
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
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After a review of available information and strike video it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find that civilians were harmed in this strike.
Original strike reports
A major coalition air raid on Mosul on February 24th 2015 is confirmed. According to CJTF-OIR: “Near Mosul, three airstrikes struck an ISIL large tactical unit, multiple ISIL checkpoints, an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed 11 ISIL buildings, two ISIL armored vehicles and seven ISIL vehicles.”