US ‘probably had a role' in Mosul blast, says top commander
The senior U.S. commander in Iraq acknowledged on Tuesday that the U.S.-led coalition probably had a role in an explosion in Mosul believed to have killed scores of civilians but said Daesh could also be to blame.
As investigators probe the blast, Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend strongly defended U.S. behavior in the war and pushed back against accusations the United States had loosened safeguards meant to protect civilians as it ramps up the battle against Daesh. Still, he said increases in casualties were to be expected as the war against the insurgents entered its deadliest phase in the cramped, narrow streets of Mosul's Old City.
"It is the toughest and most brutal close-quarters combat that I have experienced in my 34 years of service," Townsend told Pentagon reporters, speaking from Iraq. "What has not changed is our care, our caution ... our tolerance from civilian casualties - none of that has changed."
West Mosul is both smaller and more densely populated than the city's east, meaning that this stage of the battle poses a greater danger to civilians than those that came before.
The coalition had previously said it carried out a strike on March 17 in an area of west Mosul in which civilian casualties were reported, and that it had opened an investigation. Iraq is also investigating civilian deaths in west Mosul, but has sought to place the blame on Daesh. UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said Tuesday that more than 300 civilians have been killed in west Mosul since Feb. 17. Daesh has targeted civilians and used them as human shields, while strikes by anti-IS forces have also left civilians dead.
The United States has about 5,200 troops in Iraq, the Pentagon says. Officials say two more companies of U.S. soldiers, just under 300 troops, are headed to Iraq on a temporary deployment.
Witnesses on Sunday described horrific scenes of body parts strewn over rubble, residents trying desperately to pull out survivors and other people buried out of reach.
The Iraqi military's figure of 61 bodies was lower than that given by local officials - a municipal official said on Saturday that 240 bodies had been pulled from the rubble. A local lawmaker and two witnesses say a coalition air strike may have targeted a truck bomb, triggering a blast that collapsed buildings.
If confirmed, the toll would be one of the worst since the 2003 US-led invasion, raising questions about civilian safety as Iraq's Shiite-led government tries to avoid alienating Mosul's mostly Sunni population. Iraq's military command has blamed militants for rigging a building with explosives to cause civilian casualties, but some witnesses say it was collapsed by an air strike, burying many families under the rubble.
As investigators probe the blast, Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend strongly defended U.S. behavior in the war and pushed back against accusations the United States had loosened safeguards meant to protect civilians as it ramps up the battle against Daesh. Still, he said increases in casualties were to be expected as the war against the insurgents entered its deadliest phase in the cramped, narrow streets of Mosul's Old City.
"It is the toughest and most brutal close-quarters combat that I have experienced in my 34 years of service," Townsend told Pentagon reporters, speaking from Iraq. "What has not changed is our care, our caution ... our tolerance from civilian casualties - none of that has changed."
West Mosul is both smaller and more densely populated than the city's east, meaning that this stage of the battle poses a greater danger to civilians than those that came before.
The coalition had previously said it carried out a strike on March 17 in an area of west Mosul in which civilian casualties were reported, and that it had opened an investigation. Iraq is also investigating civilian deaths in west Mosul, but has sought to place the blame on Daesh. UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said Tuesday that more than 300 civilians have been killed in west Mosul since Feb. 17. Daesh has targeted civilians and used them as human shields, while strikes by anti-IS forces have also left civilians dead.
The United States has about 5,200 troops in Iraq, the Pentagon says. Officials say two more companies of U.S. soldiers, just under 300 troops, are headed to Iraq on a temporary deployment.
Witnesses on Sunday described horrific scenes of body parts strewn over rubble, residents trying desperately to pull out survivors and other people buried out of reach.
The Iraqi military's figure of 61 bodies was lower than that given by local officials - a municipal official said on Saturday that 240 bodies had been pulled from the rubble. A local lawmaker and two witnesses say a coalition air strike may have targeted a truck bomb, triggering a blast that collapsed buildings.
If confirmed, the toll would be one of the worst since the 2003 US-led invasion, raising questions about civilian safety as Iraq's Shiite-led government tries to avoid alienating Mosul's mostly Sunni population. Iraq's military command has blamed militants for rigging a building with explosives to cause civilian casualties, but some witnesses say it was collapsed by an air strike, burying many families under the rubble.