Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident date

February 8, 2015

Incident Code

CI038

LOCATION

الموصل‎, 100km South of Mosul on ‘Road 1’, Nineveh, Iraq

An alleged coalition airstrike struck a vehicle on the road between Mosul and Baghdad, which was carrying Jordanian mosque janitor Ahmed Abdul Aqi [sometimes Baqi], his wife and daughter. All three died in the incident. The driver of the car Ahmed al Azzawi (pictured below) also died according to his family. In a detailed report

Summary

First published
February 8, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
4
(1 child2 men)
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, Unknown
Named victims
4 named, 1 familiy identified
View Incident

Incident date

February 3, 2015

Incident Code

CI036

LOCATION

الموصل‎, Kisik Junction, Nineveh, Iraq

An internal post-strike review for CENTCOM of full-motion video revealed a “possible child entering a targeted bunker and then disappearing out of the field of view (FOV) approximately 19 minutes before Strike.” The dynamic strike, conducted by a French Mirage 2000 using a Bu-49 bomb, killed an estimated five enemy fighters. Claims that a child

Summary

First published
February 3, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
1
(1 child)
Airwars civilian harm grading
Discounted
Those killed were combatants, or other parties most likely responsible.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

January 28, 2015

Incident Code

CI035

LOCATION

الموصل‎, Mosul, Centre, Nineveh, Iraq

Citing a police source in the city, NINA claimed that nine civilians were killed and seven injured in an international coalition airstrike: “The source said that ‘the international coalition targeted the homes of civilians which resulted in the killing and injuring of dozens of civilians’… He pointed out that ‘the bodies of the martyrs arrived

Summary

First published
January 28, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
9
(1 child3 women)
Civilians reported injured
7
Airwars civilian harm grading
Weak
Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

January 22, 2015

Incident Code

CI031

LOCATION

الموصل‎, Mosul, Nineveh, Iraq

An internal CENTCOM report cited a Tweet by an Iraqi “self proclaimed freelance journalist” (identified as Mr Zyad al-Senjary) who had posted a photograph of “a partially-destroyed house and claimed 2 children were killed and several Iraqis injured in a UAV [drone] strike.” An initial CENTCOM inquiry identified 32 total Coalition engagements in Nineveh for

Summary

First published
January 22, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
2
(2 children)
Airwars civilian harm grading
Weak
Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

January 3, 2015

Incident Code

LC012

LOCATION

ميناء السدرة, Port Sidra, Surt, Libya

Alwasat reported armed clashes around the port of Sidra between fighters guarding the oil ports and the LNA which were accompanied by three LNA airstrikes. Alfakhiri claimed on Twitter that two children were killed in the attack but didn’t add further details.

Summary

First published
January 3, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
2
(2 children)
Airwars civilian harm grading
Weak
Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
Suspected belligerent
Libyan National Army
View Incident

Incident date

December 21, 2014

Incident Code

CI023

LOCATION

الفلوجة‎, Fallujah, Al Anbar, Iraq

A woman and child may have been injured in a major Australian airstrike at Fallujah on December 21st 2014, according to an internal CENTCOM assessment. The pre-planned attack was focused on a’suspected weapons factory’ in the city. However, 10 minutes after the last bomb had been dropped by an Australian aircraft, “a probable female and

Summary

First published
December 21, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
0 – 13
(2–8 children)
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
View Incident

Incident date

December 21, 2014

Incident Code

CS035

LOCATION

الباب, Al-Bab, Aleppo, Syria

Three civilian men were reported killed in an event near the town of Al Bab, after a US aircraft dropped a 500lb bomb on a fleeing ISIL suspect. They were later named by the VDC and Syrian Martyrs. Social media also reported civilian deaths, with one tweet noting: “At least two civilians martyred in the

Summary

First published
December 21, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
3
(2 children3 men)
Civilians reported injured
2
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
Named victims
3 named
View Incident

Incident date

December 16, 2014

Incident Code

CI022

LOCATION

الموصل‎, Mosul, Nineveh, Iraq

In an event previously unreported by Airwars, an internal Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) reported “4 unknown persons potentially injured while moving into the engagement area,” during a Coalition airstrike on Objective Nebula, a targeted vehicle. France later confirmed that it had carried out a targeted strike in Mosul on that date, though it is not

Summary

First published
December 16, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
0
(4 children)
Airwars civilian harm grading
Discounted
Those killed were combatants, or other parties most likely responsible.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

December 13, 2014

Incident Code

CI021

LOCATION

الرمادي, Ramadi, Al Anbar, Iraq

In an event previously unreported by Airwars, Coalition reported an unspecified open source as publishing a picture of a dead child “without any identification of original location”. According to provisional analysis “There was one airstrike in Ramadi on 13 December (strike #1266) which was unlikely to have caused the death.” No further action was recorded

Summary

First published
December 13, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
1
(1 child)
Airwars civilian harm grading
Discounted
Those killed were combatants, or other parties most likely responsible.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

December 11, 2014

Incident Code

CS033

LOCATION

مسكنة, Jirah Military Airbase, al Maskana, Aleppo, Syria

A shepherd boy aged 10, 14 or 15, and named as Muhammad Qasim (or sometimes Mohammed Abd al Kareem), was reportedly killed in a coalition airstrike on a nearby Islamic State military base. An investigation by the Syrian Network for Human Rights later concluded: “Around 2:45 in the afternoon an international alliance warplane raided over

Summary

First published
December 11, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
1
(1 child)
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
Named victims
1 named
View Incident

Incident date

December 9, 2014

Incident Code

CI020

LOCATION

الفلوجة‎, Fallujah, Al Anbar, Iraq

Up to 9 civilians were reported killed and 32 injured in what NINA described as a “coalition airstrike” on people queuing for fuel in the city. On the following day Al Jazeera, Rudaw, NINA and Mobtaba all described attacks on the districts of “Al Jolan north of the city, Nizal in the centre of the

Summary

First published
December 9, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
8 – 9
(2–3 children)
Civilians reported injured
32
Airwars civilian harm grading
Discounted
Those killed were combatants, or other parties most likely responsible.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

November 22, 2014

Incident Code

CI019

LOCATION

يت, Hit, hospital and Zohour, Al Anbar, Iraq

Multiple airstrikes reportedly targeted Hit, allegedly leading to significant civilian casualties. News agency Herak reported one eyewitness as saying that five airstrikes had struck the city: “The first targeted outside a hospital building, and the other targeted a house near the mosque. A further air strike targeted a house in the Qadisiyah district, leading to

Summary

First published
November 22, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
5 – 8
(3 children)
Civilians reported injured
9–35
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, Unknown
View Incident

Incident date

November 17, 2014

Incident Code

CI017

LOCATION

القيارة, Qayyarah, Nineveh, Iraq

Multiple civilians were reported killed as a result of air raids launched by the coalition south of Mosul. The National Iraqi News Agency cited forensic sources as saying that 16 people, including six women and children, were killed. Other media reported that up to “22 Daesh militants” were also killed in coalition airstrikes in the

Summary

First published
November 17, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
16
(3 children3 women)
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
View Incident

Incident date

November 12, 2014

Incident Code

CI016

LOCATION

الموصل‎, Mosul, Jawsag, Nineveh, Iraq

Iraqi news agency NINA and others reported that seven civilians – including children – died in “international coalition raids” in the vicinity of both Denden and Jawsaq, south of Mosul city. An additional strike by the Iraq military at nearby Mithaq in eastern Mosul reportedly killed an additional 15 civilians.  

Summary

First published
November 12, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
7
(2 children)
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
View Incident

Incident date

November 6, 2014

Incident Code

CS020

LOCATION

موقة, Muqah, Idlib, Syria

The Syrian Martyrs website claimed that up to four unnamed children under the age of 10 died in a coalition airstrike on Mouka – described as one girl and two or three boys. In contrast, the VDC lists three unidentified bodies (two adult males and one female child) noting that they were “Martyred due to

Summary

First published
November 6, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
3 – 4
(3–4 children2 men)
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, Syrian Regime
View Incident

Incident date

November 6, 2014

Incident Code

CS019

LOCATION

حارم, Harim, Idlib, Syria

Six months after US air raids had targeted the Khorasan Group (part of the al-Nusra Front) and the militant group Ahrar al-Sham, the Coalition conceded that two children had “likely” died in the attack – the first public concession of any civilian deaths after 4,000 airstrikes against ISIS over nine months. The November 5th US-only

Summary

First published
November 6, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
2 – 6
(2–6 children)
Civilians reported injured
2
Airwars civilian harm grading
Confirmed
A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
Known belligerent
US-led Coalition
Named victims
1 named
View Incident

Incident date

November 5, 2014

Incident Code

CI015

LOCATION

القائم, Al Qa'im, Al Anbar, Iraq

Witnesses from Al-Qaim alleged that coalition airstrikes targeted a civilian house at midnight, killing a father and his three children and leaving the wife with severe injuries. The man’s name was given as Mohammed Hammad Alhialy. This may or may not be related to an incident cited by the United Nations in its quarterly report

Summary

First published
November 5, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
4
(3 children)
Civilians reported injured
1
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
Named victims
1 named
View Incident

Incident date

October 16, 2014

Incident Code

CS013

LOCATION

كبيبة, Kabiba, Al Hassakah, Syria

In a major night time coalition air raid targeting oil facilities used by Islamic State, five civilians including a 7- or 10-year old boy were reported killed. The dead were later named by various sources. In a detailed report on the event, SN4HR later noted: “Those civilians are from Kabiba town and they work on

Summary

First published
October 16, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
5
(1 child2–3 men)
Civilians reported injured
6
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
Named victims
5 named
View Incident

Incident date

October 5, 2014

Incident Code

CI007

LOCATION

يت, Hit, Al Anbar, Iraq

It was reported by several sources in Hit that Coalition or Iraqi jets struck a number of civilian houses, killing up to 22 persons. Eight children and 3 women were reportedly among the dead. One of those quoted on the event was Nabil Souri, an Iraqi citizen working at Hit hospital, who learned that many

Summary

First published
October 5, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
18 – 24
(8 children3 women)
Civilians reported injured
43
Airwars civilian harm grading
Discounted
Those killed were combatants, or other parties most likely responsible.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

September 26, 2014

Incident Code

CI006

LOCATION

الموصل‎, Mosul, Tahrir, Nineveh, Iraq

“Seven civilians including two children” were reported by two local news agencies as being killed in a coalition airstrike in the eastern part of Mosul, in al-Tahrir Street. Alternatively, the Baghdad Centre for Human Rights claimed that two separate coalition strikes – in the Fadhiliyah and Ba’shika neighbourhoods of Mosul – killed four civilians each.

Summary

First published
September 26, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
7 – 8
(2 children)
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
View Incident

Incident date

September 23, 2014

Incident Code

CS001

LOCATION

كفردريان, Kafr Daryan, Idlib, Syria

On the first night of US airstrikes in Syria, the United States carried out a sequence of attacks on the Al Qaeda-affiliated Khorasan Group (part of the al-Nusra Front.) For the only recorded occasion during the allied air war, the US deployed Tomahawk cruise missiles to strike targets in the vicinity of Aleppo. Locals also

Summary

First published
September 23, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
13 – 18
(5 children5 women4–6 men)
Civilians reported injured
15
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
Named victims
13 named, 3 families identified
View Incident

Incident date

September 5, 2014

Incident Code

CI004

LOCATION

الموصل‎, Mosul, Houses neighboring the Turkish Consulate, Nineveh, Iraq

Sources in the city claimed that an airstrike carried out at approximately 10pm in the vicinity of the Turkish consulate in Mosul had killed Ridwan Akram, his wife and their child. According to a commemorative Facebook page, the family had only recently returned after three months in Turkey when they died. While a number of

Summary

First published
September 5, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
3
(1 child1 man)
Airwars civilian harm grading
Discounted
Those killed were combatants, or other parties most likely responsible.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
Named victims
1 named
View Incident

Incident date

August 6, 2014

Incident Code

LC004a

LOCATION

قنفودة, Ganfouda, Benghazi, Libya

According to many local sources, one child was reported killed in an alleged LNA airstrike on the Ganfouda neighbourhood of Benghazi. Alwasat wrote: The house of the brother of MP Amal Muhammad Baiou was shelled in the Ganfouda area, killing Hassan Salah Mohammed Baiou and the house completely collapsed. His family announced that the funeral

Summary

First published
August 6, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
1
(1 child)
Airwars civilian harm grading
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Suspected belligerent
Libyan National Army
Named victims
1 named
View Incident

Incident date

June 1, 2014

Incident Code

USSOM031-C

LOCATION

Farigow, 3 km west of Jilib, Middle Juba, Somalia

Between one and five civilians, including women and children, were killed as the Farigow leper colony near Jilib, Middle Jubba was struck by unknown warplanes, international media reported. A woman living near the settlement told the Kenyan group Journalists for Justice that the colony was struck by jets by “mid 2014”, killing one person and

Summary

First published
May 20, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Strike status
Contested strike
Strike type
Airstrike
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
1 – 5
(1–2 children1–2 women0–1 men)
Civilians reported injured
3
Cause of injury / death
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Airwars civilian harm grading
Contested
Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
Suspected belligerents
US Forces, Kenyan Military Forces
Suspected target
Al-Shabaab
View Incident

Incident date

January 26, 2014

Incident Code

USSOM030-C

LOCATION

Haway, Lower Shabelle, Somalia

Two civilian children were reported killed and their father severely injured when a US military drone strike attack seemingly directed at nine al Shabaab members struck Hawai, Lower Shabelle, international and local media reported. The strike was said to have targeted and failed to kill Ahmed Abdi Godane. While there initially were no reports of

Summary

First published
January 26, 2014
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Strike status
Declared strike
Strike type
Airstrike
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
2
(2 children)
Civilians reported injured
1
Cause of injury / death
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Airwars civilian harm grading
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Known belligerent
US Forces
Known target
Al-Shabaab
Named victims
3 named, 1 familiy identified
Belligerents reported killed
1–9
View Incident

Incident date

November 1, 2013

Incident Code

USSOM029-C

LOCATION

جيليب, Jilib, Middle Juba, Somalia

Five children from a single family were killed in the town of Jilib, in Somalia’s Middle Juba region, when their house was razed by aerial bombardment from an unknown belligerent (possibly Kenya), according to residents interviewed by the group Journalists for Justice. According to the report, “A third set of strikes took place a few

Summary

First published
November 1, 2013
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Strike status
Single source claim
Strike type
Airstrike
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
5
(5 children)
Civilians reported injured
1
Cause of injury / death
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Airwars civilian harm grading
Weak
Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
Suspected belligerents
US Forces, Kenyan Military Forces
Suspected target
Al-Shabaab
View Incident

Incident date

June 1, 2013

Incident Code

USSOM026-C

LOCATION

جيليب, Jilib, Middle Juba, Somalia

Drones and helicopters reportedly attacked outside the town of Jilib, in Somalia’s Middle Juba region, killing three people and seriously wounding seven, according to locals interviewed by the Kenyan group Journalists for Justice. Of the three people killed, two were women and one an elderly man, and of those wounded, three were reportedly children. As

Summary

First published
June 1, 2013
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Strike status
Single source claim
Strike type
Airstrike, Drone Strike
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
3
(2 women1 man)
Civilians reported injured
7
Cause of injury / death
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Airwars civilian harm grading
Weak
Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
Suspected belligerents
US Forces, Kenyan Military Forces
Suspected target
Al-Shabaab
View Incident

Incident date

March 1, 2013

Incident Code

USSOM025-C

LOCATION

Kol, near Bula Xawa, Gedo, Somalia

Two airstrikes by an unknown belligerent hit the nomadic settlement of Kol, near the city of Bulla-Xama, in southwestern Somalia’s Gedo region, killing a mother and her two children and injuring five others, a young man who fled the settlement following the strike told the Kenyan group Journalists for Justice. According to a report, Black

Summary

First published
March 1, 2013
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Strike status
Single source claim
Strike type
Airstrike
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
3
(2 children1 woman)
Civilians reported injured
5
Cause of injury / death
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Airwars civilian harm grading
Weak
Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
Suspected belligerent
Unknown
Suspected target
Unknown
Named victims
3 named, 1 familiy identified
View Incident

Incident date

January 12, 2013

Incident Code

SOM016a-1

LOCATION

Bulo Marer, Somalia

French commandos failed to a rescue a French spy held hostage by al Shabaab since 2009. Paris claimed the militants executed the captured secret service agent, known by his alias Denis Allex, during an assault by 50 Special Forces troops. However al Shabaab’s media wing said the hostage survived. Seventeen alleged militants were reportedly killed

Summary

First published
January 12, 2013
Last updated
May 31, 2022
Strike status
Declared strike
Strike type
Airstrike
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
8
(2 children2 women3 men)
Causes of injury / death
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Small arms and light weapons
Airwars civilian harm grading
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Known belligerent
French Military
Known target
Al-Shabaab
Named victims
7 named, 2 families identified
Belligerents reported killed
17
View Incident

Incident date

December 28, 2012

Incident Code

USYEM138-C

LOCATION

شحير, Near the hospital in Shoheer, Hadramaut, Yemen

On the evening of December 28, 2012, an alleged US drone strike fired missiles at a moving motorcycle killed between two to four alleged AQAP militants near the town of Shaher, near the site of a strike four days earlier. An investigation by an NGO revealed that a 10 year old child was also wounded.

Summary

First published
December 28, 2012
Last updated
August 25, 2023
Strike status
Likely strike
Strike type
Airstrike and/or Artillery
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
0
Civilians reported injured
1
Cause of injury / death
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Airwars civilian harm grading
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Suspected belligerent
US Forces
Suspected target
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
Named victims
1 named
Belligerents reported killed
2–4
View Incident