Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS1842

Incident date

November 19, 2018

Location

قرية الحنة, Al Hanna village, Al Hassakah, Syria

Airwars assessment

According to local sources, people took to the streets in demonstration after one man was killed and his two children injured or killed when shells hit their house in Al-Hanna.

Jisr TV reported it was a total of 14 shells that caused the killing of the man and the injuries of his children. According to a source reporting to Eye on Hassaka – activist Mohammed al Khader – the victims were part of the Hassan al-Khairi family. According to Mohammed, the limbs of the children were amputated as a result of the shell falling on their house.

Media activist Raed al-Haskawi told the newspaper Madar Daily that the reason for the demonstrations was the killing of an entire family in the eastern village of Al-Hanna. He claimed this was due to the fall of a rocket from US troops stationed at the Kam Al-Bulgar, an area used for training.

Syrian state media agency Sana News reported that the fall of the rocket shell on the home in Al-Hanna killed two civilians and wounded four others.

Eye on Hassaka blamed the Coalition, while Smart News blamed the SDF who were allegedly conducting military exercises with live ammunition. According to Shaam News, both the Coalition and SDF were conducting training during which a shell was fired. According to @aa_arabic, it was a mortar shell.

Euphrates Post and Beautiful Hassaka posted a different report, stating that the man Hussein al-Khairi was injured, that his hand was amputated, and that his children Bayda of 15 years old and Muhammad of 13 years old were injured by bullets from a machine gun in front of their house in the village.

In its December 2020 monthly civilian casualty report, the Coalition assessed this event as ‘non credible’, claiming that it had conducted no strikes in the geographical area which corresponded with civilian harm claims.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (3)

Hussein al-Khairi
Adult male killed
Bayda
15 years old Son of Hussein injured
Muhammad
13 years old Son of Hussein injured

Summary

  • Strike type
    Artillery, Counter-Terrorism Action (Ground)
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 (13) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • Demonstration against the coalition and SDF after a training shell killed one man and injured his children, according to Eye on Hasaka Facebook post on November 19th, 2018.
  • Demonstration against the coalition and SDF after a training shell killed one man and injured his children, according to Eye on Hasaka Facebook post on November 19th, 2018.
  • Protesters demonstrate after a family was harmed by small arms fire or shelling on November 19th 2018 (Eye on Hassakah)

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
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    in al Hanna, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SFV546965
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Dec 15, 2020
  • Nov. 19, 2018, in al Hanna, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties. 3233/CS1842 37SFV546965

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For November 19th, the Coalition publicly reported: On Nov. 19 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted six strikes consisting of nine engagements against ISIS targets.
Near Hajin, six strikes destroyed five supply routes.

[Note however that the reported casualties resulted from small arms fire]

Summary

  • Strike type
    Artillery, Counter-Terrorism Action (Ground)
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 (13) [ collapse]