Pentagon investigating claims 200 civilians killed in Mosul airstrike

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Pentagon on Friday, March 24 said it is investigating the possibility that a recent U.S.-led military airstrike over Mosul, Iraq may have killed as many as 200 civilians, Washington Examiner reports.

Residents of the northern Iraqi city have claimed large-scale fatalities sometime between March 17 and Thursday. However, the U.S. government has yet to verify the claims as a result of its offensive surge against the Islamic State.

"[T]he coalition has opened a formal civilian casualty credibility assessment on this allegation," Col. Joseph E. Scrocca, spokesman for the U.S. command in Baghdad, told the New York Times. "This process takes time, though, especially when the date of the alleged strike is in question."

If true, the civilian casualty totals would be among the highest the U.S. has seen since 2003, the beginning of the war in Iraq.

President Trump promised while a Republican candidate for office that he would make taking down the Islamic State a priority. Since entering the Oval Office two months ago, the Defense Department has overseen more intense airstrikes in Syria and Iraq, both strongholds for the terrorist group.