Aftermath of US-led coalition airstrike near Mosul, which killed at least 8 (VIDEO)
RT’s video agency Ruptly has filmed the aftermath of a deadly US-led coalition airstrike, which hit a home on the outskirts of the Iraqi city of Mosul. The agency also spoke to a man whose eight relatives died in the attack.
Yousuf Mohammed Yousuf showed Ruptly the graves of his brother’s family, including the man’s pregnant wife, their children and grandchildren, in Fadhiliya village near Mosul.
He also showed the ruins that was the home of the deceased family.
“The owner of this house was called Amer Mohammed Yousuf, my brother. His family was eight persons. On October 22, 2016, between 7:30 and 8:00 am, aircraft attacked this area and destroyed this house," Yousuf said. Kurdish troops fighting in the area as well as local officials have also said the house was destroyed in an airstrike.
Nobody survived as the family home was hit twice during an airstrike, which Yousuf blames on the US-led coalition.
"I think they are the NATO, but [I am] not quite sure whether they were French, Canadian or US. I only know that they hit this area and destroyed everything," he said.
The US confirmed it carried out air raids in the area of Fadhiliya on October 22, promising to carry out an investigation into the incident.
On Tuesday, the UN called on all parties fighting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) stronghold of Mosul to make the protection of civilian lives a priority.
On Monday, US State Department spokesman John Kirby said that “in Mosul, the firepower that coalition uses is very precise, very discriminate, great care is taken to avoid civilian casualties.”
He was commenting on Moscow’s statement that the operation in Mosul is similar to the one aimed at liberating Aleppo from terrorists now being carried out by Syrian and Russian forces.
“I’m not aware that we’ve received any reports or credible allegations of civilian casualties caused by Iraqi Security Forces or the coalition thus far in the campaign,” Kirby said.
In late October, the Russian Defense Ministry said that over 60 civilians were killed and at least 200 injured during the opening days of the US-led coalition airstrikes on residential areas in Mosul.
The confirmation of US responsibility for the Fadhiliya airstrike is going to affect the Mosul operation, Massoud Shadjareh from the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission told RT.
“It will create an anti-American feeling again in that region, which incidentally had existed for some time,” he said.
Shadjareh stressed that it was “devastating” that the Iraqi people “who have been under so much oppression from Islamic State, now have to be killed and destroyed by those, who are actually supposed to help them, liberate them, and give them their freedom back.”
The human rights activist condemned the double standards employed in the West regarding the reaction and coverage of civilian casualties.
“People are playing lots of politics… if it’s done by any group which is unpopular within the Western concept than it’s called a war crime. And when it’s done by our own – Western – armed forces than we call this a mistake and brush it aside,” he said.
Shadjareh urged the UN to pay more attention to civilian deaths in conflict and create a system that would allow indiscriminate responsibility for those who are guilty of killing innocent people.
