Airwars assessment
Surviving family members told Buzzfeed investigators that five members of a family died in a suspected Coalition strike. The alliance later accepted responsibility.
Buzzfeed casenotes for the incident were later shared with Airwars:
“GPS Coordinates: 36°19’02.5″N, 43°06’35.1″E
Date and approximate time: March 3, at around 11am
Casualties: The nephew and four nieces of Zayd Younes Mohamed, all deceased. Four surviving children and brother, some with injuries.
Comments: This strike was not concurrent with the ISF assault into the neighborhood. ISIS had that day moved an anti-aircraft gun on the other side of a thin wall beside the home. The strike target the gun. It destroyed the home in the process; witnesses were not sure if the gun was also hit. Zayd and his brother buried the dead children. When they approached the Iraqi government for compensation, they were told that since the bodies were no longer at the site of the blast, the government could not prove that the dead were victims of the blast, and their case was rejected.”
In its August monthly casualty report the Coalition accepted responsibility for the event, noting that “March 3, 2017, near Mosul, Iraq, via media report: During a strike on an ISIS machine gun position engaging ISF, it was assessed that five civilians, not previously observed during the engagement, were unintentionally killed.”
Officials confirmed to Airwars that this was the al Mansour neighbourhood, and provided matching co-ordinates.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Summary
Sources (2) [ collapse]
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
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March 3, 2017, near Mosul, Iraq, via media report: During a strike on an ISIS machine gun position engaging ISF, it was assessed that five civilians, not previously observed during the engagement, were unintentionally killed.
Original strike reports
For March 2nd-March 3rd the Coalition stated: “Near Mosul, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed six fighting positions, four heavy machine guns, three medium machine guns, two tunnels, a rocket-propelled grenade system, a VBIED, and a VBIED facility; damaged seven supply routes; and suppressed 22 mortar teams.”