Probe into Mosul blast moves to formal investigation: US general

WASHINGTON, March 29

A probe into an explosion on March 17 in the Iraqi city of Mosul believed to have killed scores of civilians has moved from an assessment to a more formal investigation, the head of the US Central Command said on Wednesday.

"It will be a more formalised approach to really look into the details of this as much as we can to establish what happened, establish what the facts are, identify accountability and then certainly identify the lessons learned out of that," Army General Joseph Votel said during a House Armed Services Committee hearing.

On Tuesday the senior US commander in Iraq acknowledged that the US-led coalition probably had a role in the explosion, but said Islamic State could also be to blame. — Reuters