A report from U.S. Central Command blamed Islamic State (ISIS) booby traps for the deaths of more than 100 civilians during a coalition airstrike in March.
The strike in the al-Jadidah district of Mosul, Iraq took place on March 17 after Iraqi soldiers came under fire by two ISIS snipers. CENTCOM said a secondary explosion went off after the airstrike hit, which leveled the building and killed 101 civilians there — whose presence the military was not aware.
Four civilians in a neighboring building were also killed, while 36 others are still 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 CENTCOM statement reads.
"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."
The report added that an analysis of residual explosive material determined that it was "not consistent with the explosive content of a GBU-38 munition."
The investigation also found that the damage that brought down the building occurred in an area other than where the airstrike hit.
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