Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CI835

Incident date

August 27, 2017

Location

Eyathia, Tal Afar, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.484214, 42.422214 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A major civilian casualty event took place in Tal Afar district, North West of Mosul, following aerial bombardment, local media reported.

Dozens were killed according to witnesses, including entire families of mostly women and children. The local media organisation Kurdistan24 said that as many as 59 families had died in an attack it blamed on the Iraqi government. Others placed the death toll at around 70.

The activists, Omar Al Habusi and Abdulaziz Afgani, made an urgent call to international human rights organisations to expose what they described as a heinous crime. Both said that the civilians killed were displaced people, and asserted that Iraqi Government Forces were responsible.

A tweet by @AEJKHaill published graphic photographs of children killed following the raid. The source blamed the US-led Coalition and the Iraqi Army, calling it the “US-backed Iraqi Army”. @AEJKHaill described the incident as “pure terrorism”.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention the Eyathia (العياضية) town and that survivors fled North East, towards Malha (المالحة) village. The coordinates for Eyathia (العياضية) are: 36.484214, 42.422214. The coordinates for Malha (المالحة) are: 36.518949, 42.354012. Airwars assessment summary uses the generic coordinates for Eyathia (العياضية), however, it is likely that the incident took place in the Northern outskirts of the town.

  • A satellite image taken on 28, August 2017, shows fires burning in West Eyathia (العياضية).

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    40 – 150
  • Civilians reported injured
    30
  • 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, Iraq Government Forces

Sources (4) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    A picture of the two children who were killed in Tal Afar, West Mosul province following an aerial bombardment (via @AEJKhalil)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    A picture of a dead woman on the ground while her child is trying to wake her up. The woman was killed following an aerial bombardment on Tal Afar, West Mosul province (via @AEJKhalil)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    A picture of a child, killed in Tal Afar, West Mosul province following an aerial bombardment (via @AEJKhalil)
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 information on the time and location
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Tel Afer, Iraq
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • May 31, 2018
  • The report contains insufficient information of the time, location and details to assess its credibility.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For August 26th – 27th the Coalition reported *Near Tal Afar, three strikes destroyed three ISIS-held buildings, two vehicles and a fighting position.” It additionally stated that “On Aug. 26, near Tal Afar, Iraq, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two medium machine guns, two VBIEDs, two command and control nodes, a weapons cache, and a fighting position.”

Iraq Government Forces Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Iraq Government Forces
  • Iraq Government Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    40 – 150
  • Civilians reported injured
    30
  • 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, Iraq Government Forces

Sources (4) [ collapse]