U.S. forces dropped bombs Sunday on a building in central Mosul, Iraq, where Islamic State militants were storing huge amounts of cash it was using to pay its troops, U.S. defense officials said.
Officials could not confirm the exact amount of money that went up in smoke in the airstrike or what currency it was, but one official told CNN it was “millions.”
Defense officials said the building was obliterated quickly by two 2,000 pound bombs. The U.S. plans to target more of the Islamic State’s financial resources like the bank in an attempt to cripple the terror group’s ability to function as a state-like entity.
Officials did not confirm nor deny the report out of Iran that civilians were killed in the Mosul strike, or that there were guards in the bank at the time of the bombing, NBC reported.
U.S. commanders had been willing to consider up to 50 civilian casualties from the airstrike due to the importance of the target. But the initial post-attack assessment indicated that perhaps five to seven people were killed, according to CNN.
In recent weeks, the U.S. has said it will assess all targets on a case-by-case basis and may be more willing to tolerate civilians casualties for more significant targets.
Since November, U.S. and coalition forces have been trying to cut off the terror group’s main money source, oil smuggling, by targeting its oil field and trucks carrying the barrels to Turkey.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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