Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CI484

Incident date

February 25, 2017

Location

Mosul, West / Right side, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.336843, 43.117979 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Local sources said that 27 civilians were killed, including women and children, and 63 were injured by Coalition airstrikes and artillery bombing on several neighborhoods at the right side of Mosul.

Sawif Ateka published a photograph of an unnamed little girl who it said died in shelling on the Al-Zinjili neighbourhood.

In its June casualty report, the Coalition confirmed that “During a strike on an ISIS VBIED, it was assessed that five civilians were unintentionally killed.” However the coordinates provided to Airwars – 36.324100, 43.127258 placed this event at Wadi Hajar (Arabic: وادي حجر) neighbourhood in Mosul. Given that this location is 4.6km from Rifai, and 3.3 from Zinjili, it may refer to a separate incident.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    27
  • (1 child)
  • Civilians reported injured
    63
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition

Sources (8) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Picture of one of the supposed victims (via Sawif Ateka)
CJTF–OIR Declassified Assessment and Press Release

Attached to this civilian harm incident is a provisional reconciliation of the Pentagon's declassified assessment of this civilian harm allegation, based on matching date and locational information.

The declassified documents were obtained by Azmat Khan and the New York Times through Freedom of Information requests and lawsuits filed since March 2017, and are included alongside the corresponding press release published by the Pentagon. Airwars is currently analysing the contents of each file, and will update our own assessments accordingly.

Declassified Assessment Press Release

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
    Insufficient evidence of civilian harm
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Mosul, Iraq
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    38SLF306246
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jul 26, 2018
  • After a review of available information and strike video it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find civilians were harmed in this strike.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For February 24th-25th the Coalition publicly reported: “Near Mosul, five strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and an ISIS sniper unit; destroyed nine fighting positions, eight mortar systems, five ISIS-held buildings, four command and control nodes, three VBIED facilities, three tactical vehicles, two vehicles, two artillery systems, two anti-air artillery systems, a rocket-propelled grenade system, a UAV storage facility, a front-end loader, a VBIED staging area and a supply cache; damaged 12 supply routes and four ISIS-held buildings; and suppressed 22 mortars and an artillery system.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    27
  • (1 child)
  • Civilians reported injured
    63
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition

Sources (8) [ collapse]