Dozens killed or wounded in air raids targeting Mosul

Dozens killed or wounded in air raids targeting Mosul
Airstrikes believed to have been carried out by Iraqi government planes have targeted Mosul, killing or injuring 69 Iraqis, mostly civilians, according to local medical sources.
2 min read
29 September, 2015
The Iraqi air force has been conducting raids against IS targets [Getty]
Medical authorities in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul announced on Tuesday that 69 Iraqis, mostly civilians, were either killed or injured in air raids that targeted the Sunni Endowments building in the downtown Nabi Sheet area.

The city is controlled by the Islamic State group.

Dr Hussein al-OKaili, who is in charge of the emergency room at Mosul General Hospital, said an airstrike hit the Endowments building - in a heavily populated area - with two missiles.

He told al-Araby al-jaded that the preliminary death toll indicates 35 people were killed, including 29 civilians, including many women and children, in addition to six IS militants.

A further 34 civilians were injured. Okaili said the number of casualties was likely to rise, given that many were critically injured.

Sheikh Ragheb Hamid Siraj, a local leader in Mosul, said the air raids were carried out by an Iraqi plane that targeted the building. Less than five minutes after the first strike, as a crowd gathered round, another missile hit, inflicting further civilian casualties.

"The remains of some victims were collected in bags and they were not identified," said Siraj.

The bombing came hours after Iraqi planes dropped leaflets calling on locals to keep away from IS positions. However, city residents say this is impossible, IS fighters are present everywhere, and frequently change their locations.

Detainees

On a different note, Abdul-Qahhar al-Samerrai, a member of the Iraqi parliament Security and Defence Committee, said the fates of around 600 detainees in the Samarra region remain unknown.

Samerrai made an emotional appeal for their release, calling on the Iraqi prime minister and religious leaders to work harder to return the displaced from the areas of Yatherib, Aziz Nalad, Sueliman Bek, Tuz Khormato and Salahuddin.