Geolocation
Airwars assessment
In a mass civilian casualty incident, two families of up to twelve people died in alleged US-led Coalition airstrikes on al Shahabat village in the western Deir Ezzor countryside at “dawn” on September 12th, according to local media.
An initial report by Euphrates Post document “five martyrs from one family”, the figure rose to 11 in a subsequent report also by Euphrates Post. The names of those killed were documented.
The strikes reportedly targeted “the vicinity of the mill” according to Marsad al Hassaka, however in Jisir documented the location as “the vicinity of a sheep market” in a later report.
Rami Abdul Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights made a statement in Arab48, “Twelve civilians from one family, including five children, were killed in an attack on the village of Shahbaat”.
According to a later report from SOHR, the Shahbaat area, is close to the village of Al-Salihiyagh, east of the euphrates river. The report alleged the strike to have taken place during the night, and the death toll likely to rise due to unknown numbers of civilians wounded.
The majority of sources blamed the US-led Coalition for the attack and resultant loss of civilian life.
The US-led Coalition informed Airwars that as a result of their deconfliction agreements they have ceased to conduct strikes entirely in Deir Ezzor city.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (7)
Family members (4)
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Shahabat (الشهابات), for which the coordinates are: 35.375404, 40.184898. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further
Summary
Sources (20) [ collapse]
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Original strike reports
For September 11th – 12th the Coalition reported: “Near Dayr Az Zawr, seven strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed two vehicles, a tactical vehicle, a VBIED, and a fighting position.“ It later reported, "On Sept. 11, near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike destroyed four ISIS fighting positions"
For September 12th-13th: “Near Dayr Az Zawr, five strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, two VBIEDs, a VBIED facility and a logistics node.”
‘Monday 11 September – Tornados destroyed two sniper positions in Raqqa, and attacked a Daesh-held compound and terrorists on a motorcycle near Dayr az Zawr…A flight of Royal Air Force Tornados supported the Syrian Democratic Forces fighting in Raqqa on Monday 11 September, when Paveway IV guided bombs were used to destroy two sniper positions. A second Tornado flight patrolled north-east of Dayr az Zawr, where they attacked a group of terrorists in a compound with a Paveway IV. Survivors of the attack then attempted to move to another position on a motorcycle, but were successfully engaged with a Brimstone missile.’
‘Tuesday 12 September – a Reaper successfully guided a coalition airstrike onto a truck-bomb workshop near Dayr az Zawr…The following day [Sept 12th], a Reaper remotely piloted aircraft operated in the same area near Dayr az Zawr, and provided precision targeting that enabled a coalition air strike to destroy a truck-bomb workshop and a vehicle that was being prepared there.’