BAGHDAD (AP) - U.S. airstrikes probably played a role in the deaths of dozens of civilians in Mosul earlier this month, U.S. and Iraqi military officials acknowledged Tuesday, but they denied the rules for avoiding civilian casualties have been loosened despite a recent spike in civilian casualties.
Speaking from Baghdad to reporters at the Pentagon, the top commander of U.S. forces in Iraq said an ongoing investigation may reveal a more complicated explanation for the March 17 explosion residents said killed at least 100 people, including the possibility Islamic State militants rigged the building with explosives after forcing civilians inside.
Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said a recent spate of civilian casualties in Mosul was "fairly predictable" given the densely populated urban neighborhoods the IS fighters are defending against Iraqi government troops. However, the civilian deaths cannot be attributed to loosening of American military rules of combat, he said, and Washington hasn't decided to tolerate greater risk of civilian casualties in U.S. airstrikes.
Amnesty International said Tuesday the rising death toll suggested the U.S.-led coalition wasn't taking adequate precautions as it helps retake the city.
Townsend acknowledged the U.S. conducted multiple airstrikes in the area of the explosions. That, coupled with initial inquiries done by U.S. technical experts who visited the scene, led him to say: "My initial assessment is that we probably had a role in these casualties."
However, Townsend said the type of munitions used by the U.S. in the airstrikes should not have been able to bring down the entire building, raising questions about the level of American involvement. He said U.S. officials were assessing the possibility IS forced civilians to gather there to act as human shields or to lure the U.S. into attacking.
"It sure looks like they were," Townsend said. Another possibility being examined was the militants filled the building with explosives, he said.