(Previous Incident Code: I307a)

A Coalition or Iraq government airstrike on a vehicle killed one civilian and injured others, according to a Human Rights Watch investigation.

According to HRW a strike on a vehicle at al Ashwa, 80 kilometres from Mosul in December 2016 killed one civilian named and wounded 11 others. It said the apparently unlawful attack, in an area held by Islamic State, was most likely carried out by the Coalition or Iraqi government forces.

According to the report interviews with six witnesses to the attack and aftermath uncovered no evident ISIS target in the vicinity. Both the Iraqi military and coalition forces were conducting airstrikes and ground-based attacks in areas outside of Mosul, but Human Rights Watch was unable to identify the attacking force or the weapon used. The laws of war prohibit deliberate or indiscriminate attacks against civilians.

Attacking forces are obligated to take all feasible precautions to avoid harming civilians, including by first identifying the military target, said Lama Fakih, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. The large numbers of families on the move in the ISIS-held territory are especially vulnerable to attacks.

The NGO also noted that Because of the possible laws-of-war violation, all government forces involved in the attack should conduct a thorough, impartial, and transparent investigation to determine whether it was unlawful… The governments should pursue war crimes prosecutions as appropriate and pay compensation or amends to victims. Under Iraqi law, a governmental committee is empowered to provide payment to victims of ‘terrorism and military errors.

In their June 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.