The U.S. has confirmed that a U.S.-led airstrike on Mosul on March 17 has resulted in more than 200 civilian deaths.
The target of the airstrike was an ISIS-owned truck that happened to be filled with explosives. The compounding explosions are believed to be the cause of the civilian deaths, a senior Iraqi military official told CNN Sunday.
The U.S. military has opened an investigation into the direct cause of these civilian deaths. The founder of the GroundTruth Projectand WGBH News analyst Charlie Sennott told Boston Public Radio Monday that it may be weeks until the investigation can pinpoint the exact cause of the deaths.
“There are a lot of possibilities here,” said Sennott about what may have led to this civilian carnage. “ISIS is a very sophisticated and persistent foe and it is not beyond them to bring human shields around them and put their lives at risk if they are going to have air strikes that are targeting them," Sennott said. "So we shall see where it ends up but ... civilians are absolutely caught in that incredibly complex battle for Mosul.”
After a recent meeting with retired U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal, Sennott was reassured that Secretary of Defense General Mattis will reevaluate their strategy if evidence indicates ISIS has begun to use human shields to raise the civilian death toll. “Being more careful to protect civilian lives is a very good thing,” said Sennott.
Click on the audio player above to hear the entire interview with Charlie Sennott.
