Australia yesterday acknowledged it might have killed as many as 18 civilians in an air strike on Mosul two years ago, during a massive and ultimately successful campaign to dislodge militant fighters.
Following an internal investigation, the Australian Defence Force said coalition raids against Islamic State group positions in the then-occupied northern Iraqi city on June 13, 2017, “may have caused civilian casualties.”
“The coalition assesses that between six and 18 civilians may have been killed,” during strikes on the al-Shafaar neighborhood.
There was no firm information about the number of deaths or whether they came as a result of the Australian strike, or from other coalition members, Australian Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld said.
The intense aerial bombardment to retake what had been Iraq’s second-largest city has already been the subject of intense scrutiny, with the US-led coalition admitting responsibility for more than 1,100 civilian casualties.
A total of 30,008 strikes against the Islamic State were carried out from August 2014 to the end of August last year, with the Mosul campaign being particularly intense.
Critics have alleged the coalition strategy leaned too much on overwhelming air power.
While quicker and posing fewer risks for coalition forces, they allege it put civilians at greater risk.
Monitoring group Airwars said the number of civilian deaths acknowledged by the coalition is well below the true toll of the bombing campaign, estimating that at least 7,468 civilians were killed.
The Australian strike was requested by Iraqi security forces, Hupfeld said.
“The Australian Defence Force takes all feasible precautions to minimize the risk of civilian casualties,” he said.
Ahead of the strike, seven Islamic State fighters were identified in a building and adjacent courtyard, armed with heavy weapons.
The Australian Defence Force said that the civilian casualties were in a nearby building.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese