WASHINGTON — Air strikes by the US-led coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group have likely “unintentionally” killed 229 civilians since the offensive began in 2014, according to US Central Command. The tally does not include civilian casualties from March — which could include potentially large numbers of civilians killed in strikes over several days in Mosul’s al-Jadida area. Stephen Townsend, the senior US commander in Iraq, said coalition forces “probably had a role in those casualties.”The coalition has said it has launched an investigation into the reported deaths. Some 43 different reports of possible civilian deaths in the two countries are still under investigation by the coalition, the statement said. The coalition insists that the IS group has targeted civilians and used them as human shields, making it difficult to avoid civilian casualties despite its state-of-the-art technology.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer April 02, 2017 03:17 UTC