Airwars assessment
Local sources reported that up to 200 civilians were killed and dozens wounded after airstrikes hit their houses in Zanjili neighbourhood (West Mosul) at dawn.
Omar Al Halbusi said on Facebook that the victims were mostly women and children, and that their bodies were still under the rubble.
@NinevehIraq reported on Twitter that Mohammed Bassil Tamimi Abu Yusuf was killed in the raids on Zanjili. He was married and had three children. The same was reported by a friend, Noble Al Ubeidy, who said that Mohammed had died as a result of shelling on his house.
Yaqein Agency said that both the Iraqi army and the international Coalition had bombed the area heavily, and said the counting of the victims was difficult due to the intensity of fighting and the ongoing shelling.
@Othmanmhmmadr said on Twitter that “horific testimonies come from Mosul”. He said “bodies are everywhere” and spoke of “a large massacre”.
Abu Alaa Wael Saimeh reported that as many as 200 civilians died, blaming the Iraqi government and the Coalition – the US in particular. This number was also mentioned by Alaraby news.
Alaraby spoke with an officer in the Iraqi army, who said that is unclear whether the strikes were carried out by the Iraqi government or the International Coalition. But “it is certain that dozens of houses in the neighbourhood were destroyed to the ground” and “the estimates speak of at least 200 victims, and these may be low estimates compared to reality.” He went on to say that “the streets of Al-Jadeed, Al-Naseem and the old school are filled with smoke, and a number of houses have been leveled.”
A member of the Mosul District, Mohammed Hassan, told the newspaper that the aircraft had chosen for this strategy after the army was unable to make progress and advance in the neighbourhood, resulting in “hysterical bombing”.
It furthermore reported that it saw hundreds of residents leaving the neighborhood after the air strikes, including dozens of wounded. They had left “through the corridors identified by the Iraqi Federal Police, which had announced that through loudspeakers after the bombing, which took several hours.”
A survivor told the newspaper “that he had buried his wife and then went out, while another [survivor] said that the people in the alley where they all lived had died because of the bombing. Residents who came out of the neighborhood seemed to be experiencing signs of extreme hunger and severe injuries.”
The newspaper concluded by saying that journalists had not been allowed to enter the area. Those that were given access, did so “with the requirement not to bring cameras, or even smart phones, into the neighborhood, indicating the commission of major crimes within the neighborhood.”
The local time of the incident is unknown.
- Mohammed Bassil Tamimi Abu Yusuf Adult male Married with three children killed
Summary
Sources (14) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]
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Attached to this civilian harm incident is the Pentagon's declassified assessment of this civilian harm allegation, obtained by Azmat Khan and the New York Times through Freedom of Information requests and lawsuits filed since March 2017, 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 that civilians were harmed in this strike.
Original strike reports
For May 29th-30th the Coalition publicly reported: “Near Mosul, four strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed 34 vehicles, seven fighting positions, three VBIEDs, two mortar systems, two heavy machine guns, a medium machine gun, and a supply cache and damaged an ISIS-held building, an ISIS supply route and a fighting position.”