On March 22, 2017, during questioning from the US Senate, Mattis affirmed his support for US troops remaining in Iraq after the Battle of Mosul was concluded. Mattis responded to critics who suggested the Trump administration had loosened the rules of engagement for the US military in Iraq after US-led coalition airstrikes in Mosul killed civilians, saying, "We go out of our way to always do everything humanly possible to reduce the loss of life or injury among innocent people." According to "Airwars", the US-led coalition killed as many as 6,000 civilians in Iraq and Syria in 2017.