The United States government has admitted a March 17 airstrike killed at least 105 civilians and two militants in Mosul. Another 36 people remain unaccounted for and may have escaped. A Pentagon investigation, however, attempts to mitigate Coalition responsibility and instead lays blame on the Islamic State militants for the carnage. The findings suggest that explosives planted in one building were triggered by the airstrike, and it was those bombs that caused the majority of deaths. The number of civilian casualties in Coalition airstrikes is a continuing matter of controversy. Many analysts believe they are being undercounted by thousands of deaths.
ISIS/Daesh militants kidnapped 3,000 civilians in western Anbar for use as human shields.
At least 83 were killed:
In Baghdad, a sticky bomb killed a civil servant.
Unknown assailants killed a Peshmerga officer in Sinjar.
During operations in the Baaj area, militiamen killed 38 militants and liberated several villages.
In Mosul, 16 militants were killed in Zanjili. Fourteen more were killed in Rifaie. Security personnel killed six militants.
Security forces killed four suicide bombers near Tal Afar.
In Hawija, infighting left three militants dead.
