But the bomb also caused a large cache of IS explosives to detonate, leading to the catastrophic collapse of the building that had civilians sheltering downstairs, officials said. Isler said another 36 civilians who are “believed to be connected” to the building remained unaccounted for, but they had likely fled the area shortly before the strike. It was the single deadliest incident for civilians stemming from a coalition strike since anti-IS operations in Iraq and Syria began nearly three years ago. Mosul was a former IS bastion but the jihadists now only control about 10 percent of the city. Bad weather had kept surveillance drones from gathering video of the area for two days, and CTS and coalition forces — not knowing civilians were in the building — ultimately called in a strike, Isler said.

Source: Egypt Independent May 26, 2017 17:48 UTC