Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS136

Incident date

October 10, 2015

Location

حربل, Harbel, Aleppo, Syria

Airwars assessment

Two civilians, sharing the same surname, were reported killed, either by Coalition airstrikes or a car bomb either in Harbel or in Deir Hafer in Aleppo governorate.

According to a Sultan Al-Musalmeh, two “young men” were killed by a car bomb when they were trying to “emigrate from Syria”. All sources identified the individuals as Khaldun Abdullah Al Qatifan and Adel Ali Al Qatifan.

However, almost all other sources reported that the two civilians were killed by Coalition airstrikes. There is confusion regarding the location. Some sources reported that they were killed in Jazrayah, near Deir Hafer in Aleppo province and one source reported they were killed in Harbel, Aleppo.  Only a Facebook post by Mzeereb noted that the two were killed “as a result of airstrikes”, without identifying the culprit.

In their January 2020 civilian casualty report, the US-led Coalition assessed reports that they were responsible for civilian harm in this strike as “non-credible”, stating that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area at that time.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Adult male From Dara'a al Balad in Dara'a, killed in Deir Hafir Aleppo killed
Adult male From Dara'a al Balad in Dara'a, killed in Deir Hafir Aleppo killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (2 men)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    US-led Coalition, Unknown

Sources (8) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • Image of the victim Adel Ali Al Qatifan. [Via: VDC]
  • Image of the victim Khaldun Abdullah Al Qatifan. [Via: VDC]

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Non credible / Unsubstantiated
    Insufficient information to assess that, more likely than not, a Coalition strike resulted in civilian casualties.
  • Reason for non-credible assessment
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SCA356002
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jan 3, 2020
  • October 10, 2015, in Harbel, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties. 2868/CS136 37SCA356002

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For October 9th-10th, the Coalition reported that “Near Manbij, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL building.

Unknown Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Unknown
  • Unknown position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (2 men)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    US-led Coalition, Unknown

Sources (8) [ collapse]