On Wednesday, a senior U.S. general said it will be difficult to maintain "extraordinarily high standards" to avoid civilian casualties in Mosul. The statement was made even as the U.S. military begins a formal investigation into an explosion in the Iraqi city that is believed to have killed scores of civilians. The U.S. military has acknowledged that the U.S.-led coalition probably had a role in the March 17 explosion. It added, however, that Islamic State could also be to blame. When a huge blast caused a building to collapse, local officials and eyewitnesses say as many as 240 people may have been killed in the Al-Jadida district. Families inside were buried. Answering a question in a congressional hearing about the standards used by the U.S. military to avoid civilian casualties, Gen. Joseph Votel said it would be difficult to apply those standards in the narrow, crowded streets of the Old City in west Mosul.
US general: Mosul civilian casualties difficult to avoid
