Geolocation
Airwars assessment
At least thirteen civilians were reported killed and 17 injured in air and artillery strikes on a number of West Mosul neighbourhoods.
Iraqi Spring Media Centre said reported the “Killing of 13 civilians, mostly women and children, and 17 wounded as a result of air and artillery bombardments of several districts of the right side of Mosul on Saturday.”
In what may have been a related event, Yaqein said that 29 civilians died at Jawasaq when it was bombarded by Iraqi forces.
Al Jazeera reported that “15 people from the same family were killed when a rocket hit their house in Serjkhana area, which is located in the old centre of Mosul, the western side of Mosul, on Saturday afternoon. The sources added that the rocket led to the destruction of the entire house and killing everyone who was in it, mostly women and children, as well as events of major damage to the neighbouring houses in which many families were located.” This may also be a separate incident.
The New Mosul People Facebook page received an appeal from local residents (see below), saying: “Families were bombed by a plane an hour ago and about 50 persons were killed. My family and kids shouting under the rubble, in the third street behind Fathi Al Ali mosque [in Aserjkhanh neigbourhood], a neighbour of barber Mahmood Abu Arkan, we ask to save them from under the rubble, Mohammed Ganim Aub Al Muhazam and Jassim Ameen Aub Al Mahzam families.” It did not say who carried out the raids.
The incident occured at approximately 3:30 pm local time.
Summary
Sources (5) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]
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Appeal by local residents in the old part of Mosul, asking to save the families Mohammed Ganim Aub Al Muhazam and Jassim Ameen Aub Al Mahzam from the rubble and reporting about 50 people killed (via New Mosul Facebook)
Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention the third street behind Fathi Al Ali mosque (جامع فتحي العلي), in Aserjkhanh neighbourhood. The coordinates for the mosque are: 36.328265, 43.093492. The strike likely within a 500 meters radius from the mosque. Visible damage to residential houses, three streets away from the mosque to the North and South is visible in satellite imagery: 36.327386, 43.094257; 36.329476, 43.093497; 36.329812, 43.094071. Airwars was able to access satellite images taken on March 8 and March 25, bridging a 17-day window. For this reason, we are unable to determine which these three locations, if any of them, is where the March 18 report incident occurred.
Attached to this civilian harm incident is a provisional reconciliation of the Pentagon's declassified assessment of this civilian harm allegation, based on matching date and locational information.
The declassified documents were obtained by Azmat Khan and the New York Times through Freedom of Information requests and lawsuits filed since March 2017, and are included alongside the corresponding press release published by the Pentagon. Airwars is currently analysing the contents of each file, and will update our own assessments accordingly.
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 civilians were harmed in this strike.
Original strike reports
For March 17th-18th the Coalition reported: “Near Mosul, four strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units; destroyed 56 ISIS vehicles, 25 fighting positions, five rocket-propelled grenade systems, two medium machine guns, two mortar systems, and an ISIS VBIED; and suppressed 20 ISIS mortar teams and four ISIS tactical units.”