A coalition investigation found that the airstrike triggered explosives rigged by ISIS that resulted in the collapse of the building in al-Jadidah neighbourhood.
One hundred and five civilians were killed, 101 of them in the targeted building and four nearby, the coalition stated in a press release on Thursday. An additional 36 civilians reported to have been in the area are unaccounted for.
“The investigation determined that ISIS emplaced a large amount of explosive material in a structure containing a significant number of civilians and then attacked Iraqi forces from the structure,” the statement reads.
Rudaw first reported on March 23 that 130 people were killed in one house and others were hit inside another after a strike in the Al-Jadidah/New Mosul neighborhood of western Mosul.
A survivor of the March 17 attack spoke to Rudaw on video from his hospital bed in Erbil.
In the morning of March 17, an Iraqi commander requested an airstrike targeting two ISIS snipers who were engaging Iraqi forces. “Neither Coalition nor Iraqi forces knew that civilians were sheltered within the structure,” the coalition statement stressed.
“The Coalition selected a single GBU-38 precision-guided munition as the most appropriate and proportionate means of engagement to neutralize the threat and to minimize collateral damage. The GBU-38's detonation, localized to the top floor of the structure, ignited a large amount of explosive material which, unknown to the Coalition, ISIS fighters had previously placed in the house.”
Analysis of the site detected residue from other explosives commonly used by ISIS and experts concluded that the damage to the building was more than what could have been caused by the airstrike.
"Our condolences go out to all those that were affected," said the coalition’s Maj. Gen. Joe Martin. "The Coalition takes every feasible measure to protect civilians from harm. The best way to protect civilians is to defeat ISIS."
