Almost 4,000 Civilians Killed in Western Mosul Since Mid-February

Iraqi Army Brig. Gen. Thaer Mosawi stated that field hospitals have received over 22,000 wounded Mosul residents since the campaign to liberate Mosul from the Daesh terror group started in October.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A total of 3,864 civilians have been killed in the western part of the Iraqi city of Mosul since mid-February, media reported citing Army Brig. Gen. Thaer Mosawi.

“Those who have fled the combat areas are reporting high civilian casualties,” Mosawi told Anadolu news agency.

He added that field hospitals have received over 22,000 wounded Mosul residents since the campaign to liberate the city from the Daesh terror group (banned in Russia) started in October.

Mosawi noted that the army has probably liberated as much as slightly more than a half of the western part of the city.

On Thursday, media reported that at least 200 people, many of whom were civilians, were killed in an airstrike in Mosul.

The Iraqi operation to recapture Mosul, the key stronghold of the Daesh in Iraq, began in October 2016 and resulted in the liberation of Mosul’s eastern part this January. Fighting continues in the city's west.

The UN estimates 180,000 civilians have escaped western Mosul since mid-February, with up to 320,000 more expected to flee in coming weeks, as government forces continue advance into the Old City.