Over 100 civilians killed in Mosul by alleged coalition airstrike

Credit: AP

Over a hundred civilians are believed to have been killed in the Iraqi city of Mosul after a coalition airstrike reportedly struck a shelter used by those fleeing the militants last week.

It has taken ten days for Iraqi forces to move forward and finally begin to recover the bodies on Friday.

The suspected high toll underscores the difficulties that Iraqi troops face in the weeks-long fight to route the Sunni militant group from the densely urban part of the city, Iraq's second-largest.

One of the neighbourhood residents said a cluster of homes were hit by airstrikes leaving many dead.

"Over 137 people were inside. The entire neighbourhood was fleeing because of missiles that hit, so people were taking refuge here," said Ahmed Ahmed.

One airstrike hit the residential area on March 13, followed by a second strike four days later, the residents said.

A team of Iraqi rescue engineers worked to recover the bodies on Friday, after being prevented from reaching the site for days due to fierce frontline fighting.

A statement by the coalition said "multiple allegations" were being investigated.

Ahmed Pesher cries next to the destroyed houses where he says 23 members of his family were killed. Credit: AP

The statement continued that coalition planes "routinely strike" so-called Islamic State targets in this area and that coalition forces "take all reasonable precautions during the planning and execution of airstrikes to reduce the risk of harm to civilians."

As reliance by the coalition on airstrikes and artillery increases so is the warnings of increased civilian casualties in western Mosul.

Faced with their toughest fight against the so-called Islamic State yet, Iraqi and coalition forces have increasingly turned to airstrikes and artillery to clear and hold territory in western Mosul's densely populated western neighbourhoods.

Iraqi civilians walk in a neighbourhood recently liberated by Iraqi security forces. Credit: AP

The United Nations reported on Thursday that more than 1,000 people have been treated for conflict related trauma near front lines since the fight for western Mosul began on February 19th.

As Iraqi forces push deeper into Mosul's old city, humanitarian officials expect civilian casualty rates to spike as more than 400,000 civilians remain trapped in the city's west.

The Pentagon, which has yet to release casualty figures from last month's fighting, has acknowledged 220 civilian deaths from coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria since the U.S. campaign against IS began in 2014.

Independent monitor groups such as the London-based Airwars, put the casualty figures much higher, at just over 2,700 killed by coalition strikes since 2014.