Two civilian brothers were killed in the village of Ghirra Sgheer south of Manbij. While most reports blamed a mine explosion, some sources claimed the deaths were caused by a Coalition strike.

Manbij Mother of All The World and Aleppo 24 both blamed a mine on the deaths. Retreating ISIL forces had littered villages and towns with ordnance, according to reports from the area. As Syrian News Desk noted, “a civilian source from inside the city of Manbej confirmed to Syria news desk that two civilians were killed and three others wounded from one family this afternoon, by the explosion of a land mine in front of their home in the district of Alhzwana south of the city under the control of SDF forces.”

However Halb News and Manbij Documentation Agency both insisted the brothers had died in a Coalition strike. ‘Violent’ fighting between SDF and ISIL was reported at the village that day, wih the possibilty of Coalition strikes in support. In one post, Manbij Mother noted: “SDF forces have demanded that the residents of the village of Gharah Kabir and Gharah Sgheer – which are south of Manbij – leave to al Shiyab village east of Manbij. It has given them until tomorrow.”

Given reported British incidents in the area that day, Airwars flagged the incident to the UK’s MoD which said ” we can confirm that there was no UK involvement” in the event.

In the second of their September 2020 civilian casualty reports, the US-led Coalition assessed reports that they were responsible for civilian harm in this strike as “non-credible”, stating that the allegation provided insufficient information on the timing and location of the strike to make a determination.

The local time of the incident is unknown.