US-led coalition: Amnesty report on Mosul ‘irresponsible’

Airstrikes target Islamic State positions on the edge of the Old City a day after Iraq’s prime minister declared “total victory” in Mosul, Iraq, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — The U.S.-led coalition says an Amnesty International report accusing its forces of violating international law during the fight against the Islamic State group in Mosul is “irresponsible.”

Col. Joe Scrocca, a coalition spokesman, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that “war is not pleasant, and pretending that it should be is foolish and places the lives of civilians and soldiers alike at risk.”

Amnesty International released a report Tuesday saying coalition forces may have committed war crimes during their grueling nine-month battle against IS in Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city. Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared “total victory” in Mosul on Monday.

Amnesty also documented war crimes committed by IS, including mass killings, forced displacement and the use of civilians as human shields.