Conflict

U.S.-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria

Incident Code

CS1782

Location

بين بلدة السوسة والظهرة في البادية, Al Soussa/al Dahra, Deir Ezzor, Syria

Geolocation

34.528889, 40.9675
Accuracy: Village

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: S1615)

Local sources reported that up to thirty civilians were killed and injured when Coalition airstrikes allegedly targeted several locations between al Soussa and al Dahra.

Most sources stated that the civilians were struck when they were trying to escape the village of al Soussa and move towards the al Dahra area in al Badia, rural Deir Ezzor. ISIS had reportedly allowed some civilians to flee.

According to Deir Ezzor 24, this happened when Coalition aircraft were “targeting several locations for Daesh in the town of Al-Soussa”. All sources identified the Coalition as the culprit.

Baladi News later noted that “dozens of civilians, including women and children” were killed and injured in the attack. This was reiterated by Syrian state media SANA, which added that “scores of families from al-Soussa have been fleeing the airstrikes of the Coalition that have been targeting their homes for days.”

Al Soussa Youth reported that one of the civilians killed was identified as Hamid Al Zaidan from al Habatra, whose recovered body had been brought to his family. According to the report, the other bodies “can’t be reached.” Two days after the event, both al Soussa Youth and Step News Agency reported a tally of 30 civilians killed, while mentioning that these were still not recovered from the site.

Two days after the incident, Mena Monitor News stated that the SDF “found eight bodies of civilians in the town of Soussa in the eastern suburb of Deir al-Ghazur, which were killed by an air strike by the international coalition coalition two days ago”.

Victims

Individuals

Hamid Al Zaidan
Adult male killed

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Civilians reported killed
24–30
2 Children, 2 Women
Civilians reported injured
2

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the villages of Al Baghouz and Al Soussa, for which the coordinates are: 34,528889, 40,9675

The villages Al Soussa and Al Baghouz

Imagery: © 2018 Google

Military Statements

U.S.-led Coalition Assessment
Suspected belligerent
U.S.-led Coalition
U.S.-led Coalition position on incident
Non credible / Unsubstantiated
Reason for non-credible assessment
No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
Civilian deaths conceded
None
Civilian injuries conceded
None
Stated location
near al-Soussa, Syria
Location accuracy
100 m
MGRS coordinate
37SFU805225
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
The Coalition publicly reported that on July 21st 2018: “Near Abu Kamal, three strikes engaged one Daesh tactical unit, and destroyed three Daesh vehicles and one Daesh line of communication."
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2018-10-25
Original Source
July 21, 2018, near al-Soussa, Syria, via Airwars. After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.

Media From Sources (1)