As coalition forces target militants in western part of Mosul.
Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times/Courtesy of World Press Photo Foundation/Reuters
The U.S.-led military coalition fighting against the Islamic State in Iraq said Saturday it had destroyed what it believed was a command center belonging to the terrorist group in western Mosul. “The coalition was able to determine through intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance efforts that ISIS did not use the building for any medical purposes and that civilians were no longer accessing the site,” the coalition said in a statement. While the eastern part of the city has been liberated from the group, the militants are reportedly trying to blend in among civilians in western Mosul, where they are thought to be keeping weapons in schools, hospitals and mosques. There are an estimated 650,000 civilians in the western part of the city. The militant group, perhaps taking advantage of the media blackout in the city, countered the U.S. coalition’s assertion, claiming Friday’s strike did not wipe out a command center but killed more than a dozen civilians.
