SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
A U.S. Air Force craft sits at the Qayyarah West airfield in Mosul District, Iraq, on Oct. 22, 2016. (Photo: U.S. Army)
The U.S. military said Thursday that it intentionally bombed a hospital in Mosul, Iraq as part of its efforts to "eradicate" Islamic State (ISIS) fighters.
The attack on the Al Salam hospital complex took place Wednesday at the request of Iraqi forces, with coalition aircraft using "precision-guided munitions," Air Force Col. John Dorrian, spokesperson for the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS, told reporters.
He said "it's very difficult to ascertain with full and total fidelity" that there were no civilian casualties, whether in the building targeted or elsewhere within the hospital complex.
ISIS fighters, Dorrian said, "were using the facility to fire heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades at the Iraqi security forces in the area." The strike on the "normally protected facility" allowed the Iraqi forces "to fall back to a more defensible position," he said.
The "protection of civilians," he said later in the press conference, "has been a centerpiece, a foundational element of the campaign to liberate Mosul."
The military is not carrying out an investigation but rather an "assessment" of the strike, the spokesperson added.
The battle to reclaim Mosul from ISIS fighters, which began in October, has left civilians, including roughly 600,000 children, trapped and facing a worsening humanitarian situation.
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
The U.S. military said Thursday that it intentionally bombed a hospital in Mosul, Iraq as part of its efforts to "eradicate" Islamic State (ISIS) fighters.
The attack on the Al Salam hospital complex took place Wednesday at the request of Iraqi forces, with coalition aircraft using "precision-guided munitions," Air Force Col. John Dorrian, spokesperson for the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS, told reporters.
He said "it's very difficult to ascertain with full and total fidelity" that there were no civilian casualties, whether in the building targeted or elsewhere within the hospital complex.
ISIS fighters, Dorrian said, "were using the facility to fire heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades at the Iraqi security forces in the area." The strike on the "normally protected facility" allowed the Iraqi forces "to fall back to a more defensible position," he said.
The "protection of civilians," he said later in the press conference, "has been a centerpiece, a foundational element of the campaign to liberate Mosul."
The military is not carrying out an investigation but rather an "assessment" of the strike, the spokesperson added.
The battle to reclaim Mosul from ISIS fighters, which began in October, has left civilians, including roughly 600,000 children, trapped and facing a worsening humanitarian situation.
The U.S. military said Thursday that it intentionally bombed a hospital in Mosul, Iraq as part of its efforts to "eradicate" Islamic State (ISIS) fighters.
The attack on the Al Salam hospital complex took place Wednesday at the request of Iraqi forces, with coalition aircraft using "precision-guided munitions," Air Force Col. John Dorrian, spokesperson for the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS, told reporters.
He said "it's very difficult to ascertain with full and total fidelity" that there were no civilian casualties, whether in the building targeted or elsewhere within the hospital complex.
ISIS fighters, Dorrian said, "were using the facility to fire heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades at the Iraqi security forces in the area." The strike on the "normally protected facility" allowed the Iraqi forces "to fall back to a more defensible position," he said.
The "protection of civilians," he said later in the press conference, "has been a centerpiece, a foundational element of the campaign to liberate Mosul."
The military is not carrying out an investigation but rather an "assessment" of the strike, the spokesperson added.
The battle to reclaim Mosul from ISIS fighters, which began in October, has left civilians, including roughly 600,000 children, trapped and facing a worsening humanitarian situation.