Prime Minister Scott Morrison has described the deaths of up to 18 Iraqi civilians during the battle for Mosul as "difficult and tragic" but said it is not clear if Australian bombs were responsible.
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Following a year-long investigation, the Australian Defence Force revealed Australian Super Hornets "may have" killed an estimated six to 18 civilians at the height of the battle to defeat Islamic State.
According to the ADF, Iraqi security forces requested help on June 13, 2017, after Islamic State fighters were spotted setting up positions in a built-up west Mosul neighbourhood. As part of the response from the US-led international coalition, two Australian Super Hornets dropped bombs on a building and a courtyard.
The ADF says its air crews hit the targets accurately and initial Australian assessments suggested there were no civilian casualties. But Airwars – a website that tracks civilian deaths in war – claimed civilians in a nearby building were killed.
The ADF says it was first alerted to the claims in January 2018 via the US-led coalition. This prompted investigations by both Australia and the international coalition, which found the claims were "credible".
Chief of Joint Operations Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld stressed the strikes were conducted within Australia's strict rules of engagement, adding it was impossible to say exactly who was responsible, as international, Iraqi and Islamic State forces were also nearby.
"We do not definitively know how these people where killed," Air Marshal Hupfeld said.
On Friday, Mr Morrison said it was a "terrible incident".
"It is not clear what precisely went on," he told reporters in Brisbane. "But I know our Defence force people will always be doing everything they can to ensure casualties are avoided."
Opposition leader Bill Shorten said he did not want to add additional pressure on ADF personnel. "If they've been investigated ... I'm satisfied with that."
Airwars suggests there were 34 people killed and a further 16 injured, but rates this information as "contested". The ADF says between six and 18 civilians were killed, based on an assessment of population density.
"The responsibility to take lethal action in wartime is a heavy burden to carry," Air Marshal Hupfeld told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
Air Marshal Hupfeld added the air strikes were carried out in an "intense and complex war zone".
"The action in Mosul was the most ferocious air campaign that we have seen in our generation."
Since 2014, the international coalition has conducted 32,397 strikes in Iraq and Syria, and estimates that about 1190 civilians have been "unintentionally" killed as a result.
"We continue to employ thorough and deliberate targeting and strike processes to minimise the impact of our operations on civilian populations and infrastructure," the international coalition said in its latest civilian casualty report, released on Friday morning.
"This process includes the thorough review and vetting of each target package prior to a strike, and another review after that strike."
Australia carried out 2750 bombing runs in Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2017 as part of the coalition.
This is not the first time Australian airstrikes have been linked to civilian deaths. In early 2018, the ADF conceded it was probably responsible for the deaths of two adults and the wounding of two children in a 2017 Mosul airstrike.
