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Agence France-Presse

Bombing by US-led forces in Iraq and Syria said to have been targeting Islamic State has “unintentionally” killed at least 229 civilians since the offensive began in 2014, according to US Central Command.
The tally does not include civilian casualties from March 2017, which could include potentially hundreds more civilians killed in attacks over several days in Mosul’s al-Jadida area. Attention has focused on one allegedly particularly deadly strike on March 17.
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.
Iraq is also probing the deadly air strikes in the western district of Mosul al-Jadida, where the number of victims is said to range from dozens to hundreds.

The battle for Mosul began in October 2016.
As of the end of February 2017, “it is more likely than not, at least 229 civilians have been unintentionally killed by coalition strikes since the start of Operation Inherent Resolve” in Iraq and Syria, according to the statement from Centcom, the US military command in the Middle East.
Some 43 different reports of possible civilian deaths in the two countries are still under investigation by the coalition, the statement said.
Critics, including monitoring groups, say the real number is much higher.
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.


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Syrian conflict

US-led bombing in Iraq and Syria killed at least 229 civilians since 2014

Locals help Iraqi civil defence force members recover bodies from a home destroyed in US-led bombing of the al-Jadida neighbourhood of Mosul on March 24, 2017. Photo: TNS

A general view taken on March 25, 2017, shows smoke billowing following air strikes on Mosul, during the government forces' ongoing offensive to retake the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. / AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE

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Pentagon figure does not include March 2017 deaths, which could raise the total to about 500


US-led bombing in Iraq and Syria killed at least 229 civilians since 2014

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Pentagon figure does not include March 2017 deaths, which could raise the total to about 500

Pentagon figure does not include March 2017 deaths, which could raise the total to about 500