Airwars assessment
A number of local sources claimed that more than 1,000 civilians had been killed or wounded over a week-long period as a result of alleged Coalition and Iraqi government bombardment of Old Mosul over recent days. However further details were sparse.
Iraq News Center reported that the number of civilian casualties buried under the rubble was so high that civilian defense teams had been unable to keep up in their attempts to recover them, and many remain buried there.
Activist Ali al Hamdani told Alaraby that “intensive bombing” by Iraqi forces was putting many thousands of civilians at risk because they aim to “resolve the battle quickly, without thinking about the fate of the trapped population”.
He added: “Death threatens thousands of civilians, while the bodies of others are still lying in the streets of the liberated areas, some of which are buried in public squares and gardens.”
Three of the five sources claimed that the Iraqi government was responsible. Meanwhile one alleged that both the Iraqi government and the Coalition was responsible.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Summary
Sources (5) [ collapse]
Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention the Old City of Mosul (موصل القديمة), for which the coordinates are: 36.34075, 43.126911.
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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The report contains insufficient information of the time, location and details to assess its credibility.
Original strike reports
For July 6th-7th, the Coalition reported: “Near Mosul, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units, destroyed one fighting position, damaged one fighting position, and suppressed a mortar system.”