Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CI397

Incident date

January 6, 2017

Location

حي الزراعي, Mosul: Agricultural District, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.3556426, 43.1410058 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Within 100m (via Coalition) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Local sources initially said that a family of three children and their grandmother were killed after their house was hit by a missile during Coalition raids on the Agricultural residential neighbourhood in central Mosul area, which at the time was under ISIS control. The New York Times later put the overall death toll at 16. In September 2020, the Coalition admitted that a strike had been conducted on January 6th 2017 against “a Daesh facility”, killing sixteen civilians and injuring three.

Mosul Ateka’s Facebook page reported at the time that a boy named Rafi Ahmed Mahmoud Al Rashidi was killed together with his two sisters and their grandmother, while they were asleep in their beds at dawn on 6th January 2017. A relative said in an associated comment that they were killed in a “bombing by a plane”.

Raedlay posted a video, which was later deleted, showing the effects of what was reported as a US airstrike. In a later post, it put the death toll at seven.

Initially, in its May 2017 casualty report, the Coalition denied responsibility, noting: “Jan. 6, 2017, near Mosul, Iraq, via social media report: After a review of available information and strike video it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in this geographic area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.”

Between April 2016 and June 2017, New York Times reporters Azmat Khan and Anand Gopal visited the sites of nearly 150 airstrikes across northern Iraq, as part of their investigation for the New York Times Magazine. This was one of the events they investigated.

As Khan and Ghopal told Airwars: “Early on 1/6/17, airstrikes struck three family homes next to each other near the Saddam Mosque in Mosul. ISIS snipers had been been using the Mosque, but the homes were full of civilians, and 16 civilian men, women and children died.

“In the first home, where the family of Zuhair Hekmat was living, 9 civilians were killed.”

“In the second home, where Col. Riadh Adnan and his family were living, 3 civilians were killed, and two family members survived.”

“And in the third home, where Rafi Al Iraqi was living, 4 civilians were killed. Rafi Al Iraqi survived, as did his 10-year-old son, Muhammad Rafi Mahmud. Adnan Riyad Adnan and Abdullrahman Riyad Adnan also survived, although they had serious injuries.”

A later New York Times interview with survivors provides more details: “The target was a house assessed to be used exclusively as an ISIS “foreign fighter headquarters” and “artillery staging location.” But the blast destroyed several nearby homes as well, killing 16 civilians. Among them were three of the children of Rafi al-Iraqi, a local trader from a leading Maslawi family. The only survivors of the strike, besides al-Iraqi, were his mother and his 12-year-old son. This was the second tragedy to befall the family. A year earlier, al-Iraqi’s wife was killed by ISIS.”

In response to new information, the Coalition reopened their assessment of the event. In the second of their September 2020 civilian casualty reports, the US-led Coalition stated: “Coalition aircraft conducted an airstrike against a Daesh facility. Regrettably, 16 civilians were unintentionally killed and three civilians were unintentionally wounded as a result of the strike.”

The incident occured around dawn.

The victims were named as:

Family members (9)

Zuhair Hekmat family member 1
Age unknown killed
Zuhair Hekmat family member 2
Age unknown killed
Zuhair Hekmat family member 3
Age unknown killed
Zuhair Hekmat family member 4
Age unknown killed
Zuhair Hekmat family member 5
Age unknown killed
Zuhair Hekmat family member 6
Age unknown killed
Zuhair Hekmat family member 7
Age unknown killed
Zuhair Hekmat family member 8
Age unknown killed
Zuhair Hekmat family member 9
Age unknown killed

Family members (5)

Col. Riadh Adnan family member 1
Age unknown killed
Col. Riadh Adnan family member 2
Age unknown killed
Col. Riadh Adnan family member 3
Age unknown killed
Col. Riadh Adnan family member 4
Age unknown injured
Col. Riadh Adnan family member 5
Age unknown injured

Family members (6)

Rafi Ahmed Mahmoud Al Rashidi
Child male killed
Rafi Al Iraqi family member 2
Age unknown killed
Rafi Al Iraqi family member 3
Age unknown killed
Rafi Al Iraqi family member 4
Age unknown killed
Rafi Al Iraqi
Adult male injured
Muhammad Rafi Mahmud
10 years old male Son of Rafi al Iraqi injured

Family members (2)

Adnan Riyad Adnan
Age unknown male injured
Abdullrahman Riyad Adnan
Age unknown male injured

Geolocation notes

Prior to the Coalition releasing the MGRS for this incident, Airwars had geolocated it to the nearest neighbourhood/area at 36.3559188, 43.1460571.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    16
  • (3 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3–6
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • Suspected belligerent
    Unknown
  • Known target
    ISIS

Sources (8) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • Rafi Ahmed Mahmoud Al Rashidi (via Mosul Ateka)
  • Rafi al-Iraqi, who lost three of his children in Coalition strikes on Mosul on January 6, 2017. (Image from New York Times)

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Known belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Credible / Substantiated
    The investigation assessed that although all feasible precautions were taken and the decision to strike complied with the law of armed conflict, unintended civilian casualties regrettably occurred.
  • Given reason for civilian harm
    No reason given
    Airwars’ assessment of belligerent’s civilian casualty statement
  • Initial Airwars grading
    Confirmed
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    16
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    3
  • Stated location
    in Mosul, Iraq
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    38SLF332250
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Sep 9, 2020
  • May 3, 2017
  • Jan. 6, 2017, near Mosul, Iraq, via social media report: After a review of available information and strike video it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in this geographic area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.

  • Jan. 6, 2017, in Mosul, Iraq, via New York Times report. Coalition aircraft conducted an airstrike against a Daesh facility. Regrettably, 16 civilians were unintentionally killed and three civilians were unintentionally wounded as a result of the strike. 301 38SLF332250

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For January 5th-6th, it noted: “Near Mosul, three strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units; destroyed three ISIL-held buildings, three supply caches, two mortar systems, a fighting position, and a VBIED; damaged 24 supply routes; and suppressed two mortar teams.”

Unknown Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    16
  • (3 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3–6
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • Suspected belligerent
    Unknown
  • Known target
    ISIS

Sources (8) [ collapse]