US releases video of IS using civilians as human shields

The Pentagon has released video showing the international coalition halting airstrikes against Islamic State targets as militants used civilians as human shields.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the 2.5-minute video, released on April 21, is a shortened version of several hours of drone surveillance on March 29 in the western area of ​​Mosul, Iraq.

In the video, Islamic State (IS) militants take up fighting positions at a building where groups of women and children are being escorted through a courtyard, and fire at Iraqi security forces.

"Our partners and the Joint Task Force (CJTF) have witnessed IS's tactics of deliberately putting civilians in danger," a CENTCOM spokesman said, according to Sputnik. The international coalition did not strike the building because it contained civilians.

The video was released at a time when the US-led international coalition has been criticized after a series of airstrikes suspected of causing large civilian casualties in Syria and Iraq.

The non-profit organisation Airwars says civilian casualties have risen to a record high since late 2016, with more than 3,000 people killed in Iraq and Syria.

According to VNE