Victims ask Dutch court to rule 2015 Iraq air strike was unlawful

A Dutch court on Wednesday ordered the Netherlands’ government to supply more documents in a civil case by more than 20 victims of a Dutch air strike against an alleged Islamic State bomb factory in northern Iraq in 2015.
Lawyers for the victims of the strike, which killed about 70 people, had argued that the bombing had violated the laws of war because it did not properly take into account the possibility of civilian victims.
The District Court in The Hague said in an interim judgement said it needed more information from the state on the circumstances under which the so-called “red card holder”, the person responsible for the final decision on the strike, came to its decision.
This should make clear whether the risks of targeting a bomb factory were foreseeable and which earlier comparable events had been taken into account. The Dutch state, however, has said these documents are classified. Another court will first assess this claim, the District Court said.
In hearings last October, lawyers for the state said the Dutch military identified the area as an industrial complex and did not expect civilians to be present in large numbers. They argued the Netherlands acted within the laws the war.