Daesh car-bomb kills dozens in W. Mosul: Local official

By Serhad Shakir

NINEVEH, Iraq (AA) - Dozens of civilians were reportedly killed when a U.S.-led coalition airstrike targeted a Daesh car-bomb in western Mosul, a local official told Anadolu Agency.

“A U.S.-led coalition warplane targeted an explosive-laden vehicle driven by a Daesh suicide bomber in western Mosul’s Al-Jadida area,” Ghazwan Hamed, head of the Nineveh provincial council’s human rights committee, told Anadolu Agency.

“[The warplane] managed to destroy the car-bomb before it reached its intended target,” Hamed said.

According to the official, the vehicle was packed with large amounts of explosive material, causing a massive blast that destroyed several homes in the area.

Hamed estimated that some 30 civilians had been killed or seriously injured -- including women and children -- as a result of the explosion.

In mid-February, Iraqi forces -- backed by a U.S.-led air coalition -- began fresh operations aimed at ousting Daesh terrorists from western Mosul, their last stronghold in the northern city.

The offensive is part of a wider campaign launched last October to retake the entire city, which Daesh overran in mid-2014.