US military hits Islamic State mortar team near Mosul school
By Bill Roggio | January 2nd, 2017 | admin@longwarjournal.org | @billroggio
Yesterday, US Central Command announced that Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve launched an airstrike against an Islamic State mortar team while it was positioned “in between two empty school buildings.” The announcement is part of a US military effort to stay ahead of criticism from media and international non-governmental organizations for striking jihadists as they use protected sites to attack allied forces.
The US military is sensitive to hitting protected targets such as hospitals and schools; an accidental strike on a Médecins Sans Frontières-run hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan in Oct. 2015 killed 42 people and sparked international condemnation.
The CENTCOM announcement is not without precedence. On Dec. 8, CENTCOM released a statement that it struck Islamic State forces at a Mosul hospital who were launching attacks on Iraqi troops. According to CENTCOM, the Islamic State was using the hospital as “a base of operations and command and control headquarters.” [See FDD’s Long War Journal report, US military bombs Mosul hospital as Iraqi troops retreat.]
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/01/us-military-hits-islamic-state-mortar-team-near-mosul-school.php
