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Battle for Mosul: Residents flee ahead of air strikes Battle for Mosul: US investigating deadly air strike
(about 7 hours later)
Thousands of people are fleeing the Iraqi city of Mosul, held by the so-called Islamic State (IS) group, in fear of US-led air strikes and fierce fighting by Iraqi ground troops. The US military has acknowledged that aircraft of the coalition fighting so-called Islamic State (IS) in Iraq hit a location in west Mosul where dozens of civilians were reportedly killed.
Dozens of people were reported buried in wreckage after an air strike in western Mosul earlier in the week. It says an investigation is under way.
Other residents say IS is using civilians as human shields, hiding in houses and forcing young men to fight. Meanwhile, thousands of residents have fled IS-held Mosul, in fear of US-led air strikes and fierce fighting by Iraqi ground troops.
The offensive to recapture Mosul from IS began last October. Residents say IS is using civilians as human shields, hiding in houses and forcing young men to fight.
One resident who escaped Mosul, Muna, told our correspondent that hundreds of bodies remained under rubble. She lost nine members of her family. In a statement, US Central Command said US planes struck an area in west Mosul corresponding to the reports of civilian casualties, at the request of Iraqi security forces.
"Coalition forces comply with the Law of Armed Conflict and take all reasonable precautions during the planning and execution of airstrikes to reduce the risk of harm to civilians," the statement said.
'Hundreds of bodies'
Witnesses and residents say recent air strikes have killed dozens of people, but the number of victims could not be independently confirmed.
Reporters in the Jadideh neighbourhood of west Mosul said they saw 50 bodies being pulled out of rubble on Friday, after the buildings were razed in attacks earlier in March.
One resident who escaped Mosul said hundreds of bodies remained under rubble, the BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen reports. She lost nine members of her family.
The offensive to recapture Mosul from IS began last October, and multiple air strikes were launched on Saturday morning.
The army is now closing in on the densely populated Old City of Mosul in the western half. A large plume of smoke could be seen hanging over the area.The army is now closing in on the densely populated Old City of Mosul in the western half. A large plume of smoke could be seen hanging over the area.
Multiple air strikes were launched on Saturday morning. If confirmed, the series of air strikes would rank among the highest civilian death tolls in a US air operation since 2003, when the US led the invasion of Iraq, the New York Times reports.
The United Nations has already said that it is concerned about high numbers of civilian casualties. In neighbouring Syria, where the US-led coalition is also fighting IS, at least 33 people were killed earlier this week in an air strike, with activists blaming coalition jets.
Iraq's Vice President Osama al-Nujaifi, himself from Mosul, said a "humanitarian catastrophe" was unfolding on account of the excessive use of fire power.
The UN was "stunned" at the loss of civilian lives, said its humanitarian co-ordinator in Iraq, Lise Grande.
"International humanitarian law is clear. Parties to the conflict - all parties - are obliged to do everything possible to protect civilians. This means that combatants cannot use people as human shields and cannot imperil lives through indiscriminate use of fire-power," she said in a statement.
The number of people to have fled west Mosul since Iraqi forces launched their offensive last month now stands above 200,000, according to the Iraqi ministry of migration said on Saturday.
Iraqi security forces, with the help of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Sunni Arab tribesmen and Shia militiamen, retook eastern Mosul in January.Iraqi security forces, with the help of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Sunni Arab tribesmen and Shia militiamen, retook eastern Mosul in January.
Concern at the plight of civilians prompted a senior UN official on Friday to decry the "terrible loss of life" after claims that dozens of people had been killed in an air strike.
US media reports say an investigation is under way. It is not known exactly when the deaths are alleged to have occurred.
But reporters in western Mosul's Jadideh neighbourhood said they saw 50 bodies being pulled out of rubble on Friday, after the buildings were razed in air attacks earlier in March.
The New York Times quoted US military officials saying the coalition was investigating reports of civilian deaths from a strike between 17-23 March.
The UN estimates that 400,000 Iraqi civilians are trapped in the Old City of Mosul. US officials believe there are about 2,000 IS fighters left in western Mosul.The UN estimates that 400,000 Iraqi civilians are trapped in the Old City of Mosul. US officials believe there are about 2,000 IS fighters left in western Mosul.