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US acknowledges its forces launched airstrike on Mosul

AP PHOTO Relatives and friends bury the body of Khadeer Hassan, who was killed during fighting between Iraqi security forces and Islamic State militants, on the western side of Mosul, Iraq, Saturday.

BAGHDAD — An airstrike targeting Islamic State militants in the Iraqi city of Mosul that witnesses say killed at least 100 people was in fact launched by the U.S. military, American officials said Saturday.

U.S. officials did not confirm the reports of civilian casualties but opened an investigation. In the days following the March 17 airstrike, U.S. officials had said they were unsure whether American forces were behind the attack.

The statement issued by the U.S.-led coalition said the airstrike had been requested by Iraqi security forces to target IS fighters and equipment “at the location corresponding to allegations of civilian casualties.” U.S.-backed government troops were fighting IS forces in that area of western Mosul, the statement said.

The coalition said it takes all allegations of civilian casualties seriously and a formal Civilian Casualty Credibility Assessment had been opened to determine the facts surrounding this strike and the validity of the allegation of civilian casualties.

“Our goal has always been for zero civilian casualties, but the coalition will not abandon our commitment to our Iraqi partners because of ISIS’s inhuman tactics terrorizing civilians, using human shields, and fighting from protected sites such as schools, hospitals, religious sites and civilian neighborhoods,” the coalition said.

Altaf Musani, representative of the World Health Organization in Iraq, told The Associated Press in the Jordanian capital of Amman that the organization’s priority was quick treatment for those wounded.

“It is our understanding that there was an incident and we have worked with the local health actors and they have confirmed more than 100 are dead,” Musani said.

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