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An Iraqi boy looks on as people collect wood and metal at a site that was targeted by an airstrike a couple of days ago, in Qayyarah, south of Mosul, on Oct. 29.

Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images

Several recent reports underline the growing risk to civilians in the U.S.-led war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. On Thursday, the Pentagon released the results of an investigation, finding that more than 100 civilians were killed when the U.S. dropped a bomb on a building in Mosul, Iraq, in March, the largest single incident of civilian deaths since the campaign began in 2014. (Locals have put the number at around 200.) CentCom had initially denied that the strike took place, before announcing the investigation. Officials now say that ISIS had likely placed explosives inside the building, contributing to the deadliness after the bomb was dropped. The battle for Mosul, which has gone on for more than seven months now, has been particularly brutal for civilians, who have often been prevented from leaving by ISIS or advised not to by the Iraqi government.

Meanwhile, a fresh wave of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition reportedly killed dozens of civilians, including children, in Eastern Syria this week. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that 106 people have been killed in Mayadeen since Thursday evening, including IS fighters and 42 children. Eighty of those were killed in an airstrike on a building that housed the families of ISIS fighters. Syrias state news agency put the number at 35, and the coalition has not yet responded to the report.

Journalist Samuel Oakford of the monitoring site Airwars also published an investigation in cooperation with Foreign Policy today finding that non-U.S. members of the anti-ISIS coalition have killed at least 80 civilians in Iraq and Syria since the start of the campaign, but that none of those 12 countries will acknowledge responsibility for any of the deaths. Airwars also reported this week that between 283 and 366 civilians likely died from coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria in April, the fourth consecutive month that those deaths exceeded those caused by Russian strikes. This has raised questions about whether the Trump administrations hands-off attitude toward airstrikes has raised the risk for civilians.

The UNs High Commissioner for Human Rights today warned that civilians are increasingly victimized by both the intensified airstrikes, and the retaliatory attacks by ISIS. In once incident, ISIS fighters slit the throats of eight men in a town that had just been bombed, blaming them for giving away coordinates to the coalition. The situation is only likely to worsen as the battle for Mosul grinds on and the campaign against ISISs heavily fortified capital in Raqqa ramps up.

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More Bad News on Civilian Casualties in Iraq and Syria - Slate Magazine (blog)

Firefighters search for the bodies of civilians who were killed after an air strike against ISIS fighters triggered a massive explosion in Mosul, Iraq, on March 22, 2017.

Reuters

WASHINGTON -- A Pentagon investigation has found that more than 100 civilians were killed after the U.S. dropped a bomb on a building in Mosul, Iraq, in March.

The probe found that the U.S. bomb triggered secondary explosions from devices clandestinely planted there by fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). And the military says the secondary blasts caused the concrete building to collapse.

The lead investigator and author of the report is Air Force Brig. Gen. Matthew Isler.

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At least a hundred people were killed by a huge explosion in Mosul, with some eyewitnesses blaming a coalition airstrike. Most of the victims wer...

The air strike had been requested by Iraqi troops who were 100 yards away and could see the location of the two snipers on the second floor of a two story building, investigators found.

However, the Iraqis could only see one side of the building and did not observe any civilians entering the building. Bad weather on the two preceding days prevented observation of the building from drones overhead, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports.

When the strike was approved, coalition forces had no information that civilians had taken shelter inside the building, Isler said.

Both snipers were killed in the strike and ensuing secondary explosion, as well as 101 civilians taking shelter in the lower floors. Another four civilians died in a nearby building, Isler said. He said 36 civilians remain unaccounted for.

The investigation determined that the collapse of the building could not have been caused by the 500 U.S. pound bomb, which contained 196 pounds of explosives. Explosives experts estimated it would take at least 1,000 pounds of TNT distributed throughout the second floor of the building to bring it down.

Explosive residue found at the blast site did not match the type of explosives used in a 500-pound bomb, Isler said, but did match explosives previously used by ISIS.

"They put a lot of work into this set up," Isler said. He concluded ISIS intended the explosives to kill civilians once the sniper's nest was bombed.

The civilians had taken shelter in the basement and on the first floor of the building because it was well-built and the owner had offered it up as shelter.

It was likely the largest single incident of civilian deaths since the U.S. air campaign against IS began in 2014. The deaths represent about a quarter of all civilian deaths since the U.S. air campaign began.

2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Pentagon report says more than 100 civilians killed in March bombing in Iraq - CBS News

Theresa May, left, during a meeting in Taormina, Sicily, on May 26, 2017.

The Group of Seven nations must help Iraq and its neighbors catch and prosecute foreign nationals who travel to fight for Islamic State, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said as she called for global action in the wake of the Manchester bombing.

Speaking at the G-7 summit in Taormina, Sicily, May warned that foreign nationals who travel to Syria and Iraq will try to return to their home countries to carry out attacks on civilians.

Allies must share the names of terror suspects to help the countries they pass through to catch them -- and should also hand over evidence such as videos or papers that show citizens who have traveled to conflict zones, she said.

May also wants the G-7 to help Iraq and other countries prosecute foreign fighters they capture in their own courts. Her call came four days after a suicide bomber killed 22 people including children at a concert in Manchester, northern England.

It is vital we do more to cooperate with our partners in the region to step up returns and prosecutions of foreign fighters, May said. This means improving intelligence-sharing, evidence gathering and bolstering countries police and legal processes.

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U.K.'s May Urges G-7 to Help Iraq Prosecute Foreign Jihadists - Bloomberg

Common Dreams

Iraq and Afghanistan: The $6 Trillion Bill for America's Longest War Is Unpaid Common Dreams The high rates of injuries and increased survival rates in Iraq and Afghanistan mean that over half the 2.5 million who served there suffered some degree of disability. Their health care and disability benefits alone will easily cost $1 trillion in ... and more »

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Iraq and Afghanistan: The $6 Trillion Bill for America's Longest War Is Unpaid - Common Dreams

WASHINGTON Three senior Islamic State military leaders and planners were killed in coalition attacks in Iraq and Syria over the past two months, the coalition fighting the militants said in a statement released by the Pentagon on Friday.

Mustafa Gunes, an Islamic State operative from Turkey, was killed in an air strike in Mayadin, Syria, on April 27, the statement said. Abu Asim al-Jazeri, an Islamic State planner from Algeria, was killed in Mayadin on May 11, it said.

Abu Khattab al-Rawi, an Islamic State military leader, was killed in al Qaim, Iraq, on May 18, the statement said. It said all three were foreign fighters but did not identify al-Rawi's home country.

(Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

MINYA, Egypt Egyptian air force planes on Friday carried out strikes directed at camps in Libya where Cairo believes militants responsible for a deadly attack on Christians earlier in the day were trained, Egyptian military sources said.

WASHINGTON Two Chinese fighter jets intercepted a U.S. Navy surveillance plane over the South China Sea on Wednesday, with one coming within 200 yards (180 meters) of the American aircraft, U.S. officials told Reuters.

TRIPOLI Heavy clashes erupted in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Friday, as armed groups aligned with the U.N.-backed government fought to fend off a major offensive by rival Islamist-leaning forces and militia fighters.

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Three top Islamic State militants killed in Iraq, Syria: Pentagon - Reuters