Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CI881

Incident date

June 30, 2020

Location

بين أبو زوير وحدود حي الحديثة, Between Abu Zuwair and the Al Haditha district border, Salah Al Din, Iraq

Geolocation

35.030418, 42.790203 Note: The accuracy of this location is to District level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Up to four civilians were reported killed in Abu Zuwair, Baiji in Iraq on June 30th, 2020 when a US-led coalition drone bombed them after they carried wreckage of a US-led coalition drone that had crashed earlier on that day. Local reports said that the raid resulted in killing up to four shepherds and the destruction of the drone wreckage that they carried and their vehicle.

@firas1alhashmy reported that the US drone (MQ-1C Gray Eagle) crashed and then a number of shepherds who gathered around were killed after they were attacked by another US drone.

@MaithamAlhmdy tweeted that ” A US plane crashed in Abu Zuwair, in the depth of Baiji Island. The plane was captured by shepherds near the demarcation border with the district. Another drone chased after the shepherds and bombed their vehicle. The shelling destroyed the vehicle, killing the citizens immediately.”

@Mustafa__Kurde said that the drone crashed after carrying out an airstrike on Jabal Makhoul. “An American drone crashed in Abu Zuair area between Baiji  and Haditha, northwest of Salah al-Din, after carrying out an air strike on Jabal Makhoul.”

Yesiraq.com said that Al-A’alam Iranian TV Channel said that US drone that crashed was targeted and downed by the Iraqi resistance. Al-A’alam said “A US plane was shot down by Iraqi resistance fires in the Abu Zuwair area in the depth of Baiji Island in Salah al-Din.”

@sumeri129 said that the American airstrike came as revenge for the downed drone. “An American drone crashed, west of Baiji, followed by an American retaliatory raid targeting shepherds , who were killed. ”

Sotaliraq said that after some local shepherds caught the drone, they were bombed. They were killed as a result and Pickup vehicle was destroyed.

While most sources said those killed were sheep herders, @DrJohnHanaDahle said that those killed were found to be members of the Popular Mobilization Forces.

In the third of their September 2020 civilian casualty reports, the US-led Coalition assessed reports that they were responsible for civilian harm in this strike as “non-credible”, stating that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area at that time.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention a vehicle being struck between Abu Zuwair (ابو زوير) and the Al Haditha (حديثة) district border.  to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for Abu Zuwair are: 35.030418, 42.790203.

  • Reports of the incident mention a vehicle being struck between Abu Zuwair (ابو زوير) and the Al Haditha (حديثة) district border.

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 4
  • (2–4 men)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • Suspected target
    Unknown

Sources (28) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • This image might not be linked to this incident.

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
  • MGRS coordinate
    38SKD986786
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Sep 14, 2020
  • Jun. 30, 2020, in Abu Zuwair, Iraq, 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. 3201/CI881 38SKD986786

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 4
  • (2–4 men)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • Suspected target
    Unknown

Sources (28) [ collapse]