Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CI540

Incident date

March 14, 2017

Location

دور موظفي السكك, Mosul, Dur al Sekak, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.329341, 43.125032 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Local residents and press source said that five family members were killed in an airstrike targeting their house near the railway. They used to live together in the same house in Dur Al Sekak at the right side of Mosul. It is unclear which aircraft carried out the attack.

Shafaaq News reported that the bombing resulted in the “complete destruction of the house and a source said that “the bombing claimed the lives of all residents in the house but it was not possible to know exactly how many.”

Iraqi Spring put the death toll at seven and said ten others were wounded. One of the victims was identified as engineer Yasser Al Nuaimi (see photo below) in a tweet by @n_iraq67, who reportedly died together with four of his relatives.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Yasser Al Nuaimi
Adult male Engineer killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    5 – 7
  • (1 child1 woman1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    10
  • 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 (9) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Yasser Al Nuaimi allegedly died together with four of his family members when an airstrike hit their house in Dur Al Sekak (via Twitter, @n_iraq67)
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 Dur al Sekak, Iraq
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    38SLF292232
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Mar 28, 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 March 13th-14th: “Near Mosul, five strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed 27 fighting positions, three rocket-propelled grenade systems, two VBIEDs, an artillery system, a mortar system, a heavy machine gun, a road block, a vehicle and a VBIED factory; damaged 12 supply routes; and suppressed five ISIS mortar teams and two ISIS tactical units.”

Unknown Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    5 – 7
  • (1 child1 woman1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    10
  • 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 (9) [ collapse]