US-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria

Civilians in the ruins of Mosul city. (Maranie R. Staab)

Belligerent
US-led Coalition
Country
Iraq
Syria
start date
end date
Civilian Harm Status
Belligerent Assessment
Declassified Documents
Infrastructure

Incident Code

CI550

Incident date

March 17, 2017

Location

الموصل الجديدة, Mosul, Mosul al Jadida / New Mosul, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.33256, 43.1059 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Within 100m (via Coalition) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

In the highest confirmed civilian casualty event of the war against ISIL, at least 105 and as many as 141 non-combatants were later confirmed by the Coalition as having been killed in a US airstrike on a house in West Mosul’s al Jadida area. At least 137 bodies were reportedly recovered from the scene.

Locals have claimed that as many as 230 or even 520 civilians were killed in the catastrophic event at al Jadida – though these higher numbers may conflate a series of events over a number of days of violence in the neighbourhood.

The Coalition later confirmed it had carried out a strike “in the vicinity of alleged civilian casualties” and launched an investigation. This eventually concluded that a US bomb had killed between 105 and 141 civilians – though the Coalition also claimed that ISIL explosives had contributed to the disaster.

The Iraqi military initially placed the death toll at 61 killed – and blamed ISIL. This was at odds with Iraqi civil defence on the scene, who reported at least 137 bodies at first and said the incident was caused by an airstrike.

It was reported that a house near Al Rahma Al Ahli Hospital was bombed in which hundreds of displaced people were hosted, providing them food and shelter as well as a cellar to provide protection from airstrikes. However there were also claims that ISIL had deliberately trapped people in the building.

There was some initial reporting confusion about the date of the incident, which was placed variously between March 17th-20th. It is possible that a number of additional strikes in the near vicinity over some days may also have caused casualties.

Both the Coalition and Iraq had announced investigations into whether they had conducted an airstrike which may have ‘indvertently’ ignited a fuel truck and perhaps a VBIED at the scene.

Correspondences Team identified the house as the 3-storey building of Haj Tawfik house. Abdulrahman Al Lawzi reported on Facebook that the Coalition hit the house in New Mosul and that all the people in it had died. 56 male bodies had been found, but “rescue efforts were unable to reach the lower hall where the bodies of women and children are buried”. In total, 126 people were reported killed, as well as 8 in the house next door. Later, Waradana news said that about 150 bodies were still under the rubble. Mosul Insta, a local Facebook group, reported as many as 250 dead:

“More than 250 human beings lost their lives in vain. Children, women, elderly and disabled only in the new Mosul area. The list of victims goes on and on and the war rages and burns everything and I do not see it ending soon. The people of Mosul do not have their parents”.

Al Jazeera posted a graphic video reporting the strikes, speaking of 137 bodies, mostly women and children.

Iraqi Vice-President Osama al-Nujaifi called for an immediate halt to the bombing of western Mosul neighborhoods. “The intensity of the fighting against the terrorist is not exempting officials and leaders from moral and humanitarian responsibility for the increase in the number of innocent civilian casualties who have been forced to remain in their areas by the terrorist organization,” he said.

In a filmed visit to the scene on March 24th, the head of the Iraq Provincial Council Basma Basim said that she feared as many as 500 locals had in fact died at al Jadida. The Iraqi Observatory also claimed that 500 bodies had so far been recovered. Local MP Ali al-Metwati claimed 600 had died – and that the authorities were covering up the deaths. These high allegations may relate to overall civilian fatalities in the neighbourhood.

On March 26th, Alaraby news reported that “the number of people killed in the US air raid on the new Mosul district on the western coast of the city rose to 511, including 187 children under the age of 15, Iraqi officials said.”

A day later, on March 27th, Al Araby put the death toll at 520. On March 31st, it raised it to 531.

Both the United Nations and Amnesty International subsequently released information on the attack. The Amnesty report contained the following account: “As the fighting intensified Wa’ad Ahmad al-Tai, his brother Mahmoud and their families sought shelter at their other brother’s two-storey home hoping it would offer them more protection. “We were all huddled in one room at the back of the house, 18 of us, three families. But when the house next door was bombed, it collapsed on us, precisely over the room we were sheltering in. My son Yusef, nine, and my daughter Shahad, three, were killed, together with my brother Mahmoud, his wife Manaya and their nine-year-old son Aws, and my niece Hanan. She was cradling her five-month-old daughter, who survived, thank God,” he said.”

A relative of the family said the following in a video by Al Jazeera:

“My family were in three houses, 26 persons, I was always in touch with them before the bombardment. On Thursday morning, my brother sent me a message which reads “ Wafa’a, we cannot call due to the heavy bombardment” my heart was feeling like I am not going to see my family again. Their neighbor, Saker, was the only one who survived (…)”

In July 2019, the Coalition provided Airwars with the location of this incident, accurate to within a 100 metre box.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Hisham Hazem
Age unknown male From the Sheikh family killed
Issam Hazem
Age unknown male From the Sheikh family killed

Family members (2)

Firas
Child male Child of Ali Sarhan Al Hayali - possibly killed in separate event killed
Taiba
Child female Child of Ali Sarhan Al Hayali - possibly killed in separate event killed

Family members (4)

Ali Thamer Abdulla
Adult male Twin brother of Rakan Thamer Abdulla killed
Rakan Thamer Abdulla
Adult male Twin brother of Ali Thamer Abdulla killed
Haj Thamer Abdulla
Adult male Father killed
23 additional family members reported killed

Family members (1)

The family of the wife of Karim Jassim Al Salim
Unknown number of victims

Family members (1)

Yarub Khader Kadawi
Adult male One of 12 family members reported killed killed

Family members (1)

Basem al-Muhzam’s family
11 persons reported killed killed

Family members (1)

The Sinjari family
Age unknown 30 persons reported killed killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    105 – 141
  • (22 children5 women4 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    6
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (83) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (12) [ collapse]

  • Firas and Taiba died on March 20th in New Mosul (via Mosul is Here Facebook group)
  • These twin brothers were allegedly killed when a Coalition airstrike hit their home on March 17th/18th in Al Jadida, Mosul (via Captain Farqad and Egypt Gym, Facebook)
  • Another picture of the twin brothers
  • More picture of the brothers
  • Body bags being buried after the incident
  • An unnamed girl supposedly killed in the strike (via Adna Khalil)
  • Yarub Khader Kadawi (via Maram Al Alhanin)
  • Two more unnamed victims allegedly killed in the strike (via Mohammed Kareem)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    A man allegedly found under rubble four days after the attack (via Women of Mosul)
  • Aftermath of the strike (via LA Times)
  • Body bags being carried away after the strike (via LA Times)
  • UN statement on the incident

Geolocation notes

Prior to the Coalition releasing the MGRS for this incident, Airwars had geolocated it to the nearest neighbourhood/area at 36.3323266, 43.1050515

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Known belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Credible / Substantiated
    The investigation assessed that although all feasible precautions were taken and the decision to strike complied with the law of armed conflict, unintended civilian casualties regrettably occurred.
  • Given reason for civilian harm
    Killed by secondary explosion(s), Killed in adjacent structure
    Airwars’ assessment of belligerent’s civilian casualty statement
  • Initial Airwars grading
    Confirmed
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    105–141
  • Stated location
    near Mosul, Iraq
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    38SLF300225
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • May 25, 2017
  • Jun 2, 2017
  • During a strike on ISIS snipers firing on partnered forces, 101 civilians were unintentionally killed when the munition struck the building igniting ISIS- planted explosives that destroyed the structure and killed an additional four civilians in an adjacent structure.

  • CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED May 25, 2017 Release # 20170525-02 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CJTF-OIR Completes Airstrike Investigation SOUTHWEST ASIA - A Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve investigation of a March 17 Coalition airstrike in the Al Jadidah district of Mosul, Iraq, found that a secondary explosion triggered a rapid failure of the structure, in which two ISIS snipers, 101 civilians sheltered in the bottom floors of the structure, and four civilians in a neighboring structure were killed. An additional 36 civilians who were reported to be connected to the structure remain unaccounted for. The investigation determined that ISIS emplaced a large amount of explosive material in a structure containing a significant number of civilians and then attacked Iraqi forces from the structure. Around 8 a.m. on March 17, 2017, Coalition aircraft conducted an airstrike against two ISIS snipers engaging Iraqi Counterterrorism Service soldiers at the request of the local Commander. Neither Coalition nor Iraqi forces knew that civilians were sheltered within the structure. The Coalition selected a single GBU-38 precision-guided munition as the most appropriate and proportionate means of engagement to neutralize the threat and to minimize collateral damage. The GBU-38's detonation, localized to the top floor of the structure, ignited a large amount of explosive material which, unknown to the Coalition, ISIS fighters had previously placed in the house. Post-blast analysis detected residues common to explosives used by ISIS, but not consistent with the explosive content of a GBU-38 munition. Furthermore, weapons and structural experts concluded, based on extensive modeling, the structural damage to the building was in a different location, and was in excess of what could have been caused by a single GBU-38 munition. "Our condolences go out to all those that were affected," said Maj. Gen. Joe Martin, Commanding General CJFLCC-OIR. "The Coalition takes every feasible measure to protect civilians from harm. The best way to protect civilians is to defeat ISIS."

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For March 17th-18th the Coalition reported: “Near Mosul, four strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units; destroyed 56 ISIS vehicles, 25 fighting positions, five rocket-propelled grenade systems, two medium machine guns, two mortar systems, and an ISIS VBIED; and suppressed 20 ISIS mortar teams and four ISIS tactical units.”

Media
from belligerent (3) [ collapse]

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    105 – 141
  • (22 children5 women4 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    6
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (83) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI070

Incident date

June 3, 2015

Location

الحويجة, Hawijah, industrial district, Kirkuk, Iraq

Geolocation

35.3208131, 43.7832295 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Within 100m (via Coalition) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A Coalition airstrike on an Islamic State depot levelled a significant number of buildings, killing an estimated 85 civilians and a large number of militants. A large supply of TNT explosive detonated after the IED-making facility was struck. Bas News described the attack as one of the worst mass casualty incidents in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.

Following the publication of a major investigation by Dutch media NOS and NRC in October 2019, which claimed that the Netherlands had been responsible for the incident, the Dutch Ministry of Defence finally took public responsibility for the airstrike on November 4th, 2019.

The head of Kirkuk’s Arab Council, Mohammed Khalil al-Jubouri, at the time placed the number of dead and injured civilians at 150. The Iraqi Revolution site claimed that 70 civilians had died, with more than 100 injured. Rudaw also reported 70 killed, describing 26 children and 22 women among the dead. Airwars updated our initial casualty estimate of 70 in light of new findings by Al-Ghad League for Woman and Child Care, PAX and the Intimacies of Remote Warfare (IRW) project at Utrecht University, in their April 2022 report ‘After the Strike’, based on field research and interviews with more than a hundred victims and witnesses.

Local sheikh Abdallah al-Jubouri told Al-Araby news agency at the time that “several international coalition airstrikes hit the district. The losses were made worse by there being no ambulances or other means to rescue victims.” He added that “This is the single worse airstrike that has targeted civilians in al-Hawija; eight months ago we were getting hit by Iraqi army warplanes but that has stopped. The international coalition has committed a civilian massacre today and Islamic State and its weapons are the reason.“

Eyewitness Hassan Mahmoud al-Jubbouri told Reuters that the area looked as if it had been hit by a nuclear bomb, and described pulling the bodies of a family of six from the rubble. Only one victim has so far been named – Kherallah Ahmed Al Saleh Al Thawabi – described as the owner of a car maintenance shop in the district.

Bizarrely, in the immediate wake of the strike, a Coalition official told Reuters: “Since we started airstrikes in August last year in Iraq, I have difficulty thinking of any civilian casualties in Iraq, and for thousands of sorties that is good. One is clearly too many.“

Among as many as 100 militants also reported killed was Islamic State’s local police chief, named as Jassim Shukur. “The [Coalition] warplanes also bombarded two other sub-districts around Hawija and many other ISIS militants who were with the police chief were killed by the bombardment,” Iraqi official Sarhad Qadir told Rudaw.

In a later January 2016 report, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) noted that US officials had confirmed carrying out the Hawijah attack though went on to state: “Pictures and videos have emerged in media and online showing an area purporting to be the blast site that has been almost completely flattened. UNAMI/OHCHR was not able to verify the authenticity of the photos or the videos, nor the number of civilian casualties.”

In October 2019, Dutch media NOS and NRC published a major investigation in which they alleged that Dutch F-16s had carried out the attack. This also revealed that chief Coalition spokesman Colonel Ryan had confirmed to reporters in December 2018 that at least 70 civilians had in fact died – though this had not been officially reported out by the CJTF civilian casualty cell. This statement was later withdrawn by the Coalition on December 5th 2019, asserting that they were no longer able to determine the exact amount of civilian casualties in the incident.

However, past and present officials did confirm to NRC that 70 civilian deaths had been privately counted for Hawijah by the Coalition for at least 18 months – suggesting that the Dutch government may have pressured the Coalition to withdraw its initial estimate.

On November 4th 2019, the Dutch Ministry of Defence took public responsibility for the airstrike. This stirred a public and parliamentary debate in the Netherlands on transparency and accountability regarding civilian casualties as a result of Dutch airstrikes. As a result, Dutch Minister of Defence Ank Bijleveld promised significant transparency improvements and said she was looking into possibilities for voluntary compensation for victims.

On November 28th 2019, Dutch newspaper NRC wrote that according to locals, the estimate of 70 civilian deaths was an absolute minimum number. Civilians stated that “almost everyone in Hawijah lost neighbours or family members [in the incident]”.

NRC stated that the Dutch Socialist Party, after seeking contact with the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP), had local Mohammad ‘Abu Louis’ Shadid Hamad Dawoud collect the names of victims. With volunteers, Abu Louis went from house to house in the affected areas to find eyewitnesses of the event in 2015. According to Abu Louis, there were “62 people killed, including 36 children and 13 women, 822 wounded, 70 destroyed houses, 375 cars total loss”. 405 of the injured were registered in the hospital. The other 417 did not have any permanent injuries.

Abu Louis’ own nephew Homan (15 years old) was killed after debris hit him in the stomach.

On December 3rd, 2019, the Dutch parliament passed a motion which called on the government “to make every effort, where possible in cooperation with NGOs, UN and local authorities, to conduct further investigations on civilian victims as a result of Dutch actions in Hawija”.

In February 2020, the Dutch Ministry of Defence released previously classified documents about the airstrike, including Defensie’s own investigation after several FOIA requests by both Airwars and Dutch media. The documents revealed that the Dutch red cardholder, the military official with a potential veto over airstrikes, was aware before the strike that the risk to civilians could be created than that the Collateral Damage Estimate (CDE) indicated.

Related documents to the case by the Public’s Prosecutors office (OM) were also released, revealing that the OM’s investigation into Hawijah only started nine months after the event and that it was not until 15 months later that the pilots were heard for the first time.

In March 2020, Airwars reported, based on information provided by a senior (non-Dutch) military official, that at least one other Coalition country had refused to conduct the Hawijah strike, implying that the potential risk to civilians was expected to be too high.

A month later, the US government released its investigation into the airstrike after a judicial procedure following an unanswered FOIA request by NRC and NOS. The documents revealed that US officials were aware that the 2015 Dutch airstrike on Hawijah posed a threat to civilians. Four CIA informants had warned the Coalition about civilians living near the ISIS IED factory, as reported by NOS. Furthermore, the Coalition amended its targeting development process. In the future, the Coalition would have to do further in-depth investigation into possible secondary explosions in densely populated areas.

On April 29th, 2020, human rights lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld filed a claim in name of 47 Iraqi’s with the Dutch Ministry of Defence. Some of her clients were severely injured in the airstrike and/or suffered material losses, others lost their relatives. Among her clients are the relatives of Ahmad Shujaá Moeshin, who was working as a security guard in a car showroom on an industrial estate, a 100 metres from the ISIS IED factory, during the night of June 2nd to June 3rd. A few days after the airstrike, Moeshin died of his injuries.

On May 14th, 2020, a fourth Dutch parliamentary debate on the case took place. The Dutch Red Card Holder had not received information about the CIA warnings and the American doubts on the risks for civilians before giving a green light to the airstrike. During the debate, Minister of Defence Ank Bijleveld stated that there should be better arrangements on information sharing between the Coalition and the Netherlands.

The incident occured after midnight.

The victims were named as:

Kherallah Ahmed Al Saleh Al Thawabi
Adult male Owner of the car maintenance shop in the area killed
19 years old female wife of Ali Assem Ahmad, died after being hit in the neck by glass of a window that exploded in the incident killed
5 years old male son of Alaa Qader, blinded by one eye injured
Adult female first name unknown, injury in back injured
15 years old male nephew of Mohammad ‘Abu Louis’ Shadid Hamad Dawoud, hit in the stomach by debris killed
24 years old male worked as a night security guard killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    70 – 85
  • (26 children22 women2 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    80–100
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition
  • Known target
    ISIS
  • Belligerents reported killed
    80–100

Sources (65) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (13) [ collapse]

  • Kherallah Ahmed Al Saleh Al Thawabi (via deleted Facebook page)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    An infant allegedly killed in the attack (via Rudaw)
  • The aftermath of the Dutch strike on Hawijah in 2015 which killed an estimated 70 civilians (via Iraqi Revolution).
  • Industrial area of Hawijah, before (above) and after (below) the attack (via NOS).
  • Photo of destruction of Hawijah's industrial area. It is unclear when this photo was taken (via NOS).
  • Footage of Hawijah after the airstrike on June 3th, 2015, published as propaganda by the Islamic State shortly after the incident (via VRT).
  • A photo that Alaa Qader took of his house, 1 to 1,5 kilometers away from the site of the incident, after a Dutch airstrike on an ISIS weapon facility in Hawijah, Kirkuk, on June 2nd-3rd 2015 (via NOS).
  • A photo that Alaa Qader took of his house, 1 to 1,5 kilometers away from the site of the incident, after a Dutch airstrike on an ISIS weapon facility in Hawijah, Kirkuk, on June 2nd-3rd 2015 (via NOS).
  • A photo that Alaa Qader took of his house, 1 to 1,5 kilometers away from the site of the incident, after a Dutch airstrike on an ISIS weapon facility in Hawijah, Kirkuk, on June 2nd-3rd 2015 (via NOS).
  • France24 report on the airstrike of May 11th, 2020 (via France24).
  • Excerpt of the US investigation into Hawijah, released in April 2020 (via NOS).
  • Excerpt of the US investigation into Hawijah, released in April 2020 (via NOS).
  • Recommendation to update the target development process in a US document released in April 2020 (via NOS).

Geolocation notes (6) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention the city of Al Hawija (الحويجة), Kirkuk province, specifically the “city centre” area and the “industrial district area Bahoijh” (الحي الصناعي بالحويجة). The majority of reports monitored by Airwars state that the incident occurred at night, most likely closely after midnight on Wednesday, June 3rd. There were conflicting reports – on Thursday, June 4th 2015, bas news stated that the incident occurred on “Wednesday evening” (June 3rd, 2015). On June 5th, 2015, alquds quoted a member of the Security Committee in the Kirkuk provincial council, Mohammed Jubouri, as saying a ”French aircraft bombed late on Thursday, a bomb manufacturing plant belonging to the ‘State’ in the district of Hawija.” Reuters reported “in a statement on Wednesday, the Coalition said an airstrike targeted a ‘vehicle-borne improvised explosive device facility’ in Hawija between 8 am on June 2 and 8 am the following day” Prior to the Coalition releasing the MGRS for this incident, Airwars had geolocated it to the nearest neighbourhood/area at 35.323474, 43.78453.

  • Industrial district in the city of Al Hawija (الحويجة)

    Imagery:
    © 2018 Google

  • Landsat 8 image of Hawija showing blast area and large-scale destruction Landsat 8 image of Hawija showing blast area and large-scale destruction

    Date taken:
    June 5, 2015

    Resolution:
    30 m

    Imagery:
    © 2018 USGS

  • Stills from an Al Jazeera report (Daesh video). Published on Jun. 11th, 2015 (one week after the incident).

    Date taken:
    June 11, 2015

    Imagery:
    © 2018 Al Jazeera

  • Stills from an Al Jazeera report (Daesh video). Published on Jun. 11th, 2015 (one week after the incident).

    Date taken:
    June 11, 2015

    Imagery:
    © 2018 Al Jazeera

  • Stills from an Al Jazeera report (Daesh video). Published on Jun. 11th, 2015 (one week after the incident).

    Date taken:
    June 11, 2018

    Imagery:
    © 2018 Al Jazeera

  • Stills from an Al Jazeera report (Daesh video). Published on Jun. 11th, 2015 (one week after the incident).

    Date taken:
    November 6, 2015

    Imagery:
    © 2018 Al Jazeera

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Known belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Credible / Substantiated
    The investigation assessed that although all feasible precautions were taken and the decision to strike complied with the law of armed conflict, unintended civilian casualties regrettably occurred.
  • Given reason for civilian harm
    Killed by secondary explosion(s)
    Airwars’ assessment of belligerent’s civilian casualty statement
  • Initial Airwars grading
    Confirmed
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    70
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    Hawijah, Iraq
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    38SLE894093
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    70 – 85
  • (26 children22 women2 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    80–100
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition
  • Known target
    ISIS
  • Belligerents reported killed
    80–100

Sources (65) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS1912

Incident date

March 18–19, 2019

Location

الباغوز, Al Baghouz, Deir Ezzor, Syria

Geolocation

34.447579, 40.953426 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

As the SDF sought to take control of Al-Baghouz, the last ISIS territorial stronghold in Syria, local sources reported on what was referred to as a significant “massacre” in which between 160 and 300 civilians including 45 children were alleged killed by Coalition airstrikes according to local sources. However, Central Command has only admitted to killing four civilians and was not able to determine whether another 60 people killed were civilians or militants.

Nors For Studies – an Arabic language source which describes itself as a Syrian research centre though which was not known for casualty claims in Deir Ezzor until very recently – alleged the staggering number of 3,000 people killed by Coalition bombardments. It was unclear whether this referred to a general number of fatalities, or whether it referred to one specific incident. According to the source, 300 people were reported killed as a result of “sniping” and 300 charred bodies were found, most of whom were reported to be children and women.

According to Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silenty (RBSS), these people were killed in Coalition air and ground attacks aimed at expelling ISIS from the town. The source reported that ISIS used hundreds of civilians as human shields during the raids. It alleged that after SDF took control of the town, “SDF militias dug mass graves to bury those killed and even those merely injured”. Alongside the report, RBSS posted numerous graphic photos of human remains and charred bodies.

Several sources including Al Hasaka Arabea and RBSS reported that after “the images leaked”, journalists were prevented from entering Al-Baghouz camp by the “intelligence service of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party”. This intelligence service was reported to have entered with a convoy of trucks “in order to get rid of the bodies of the massacres committed by the Kurdish protection units”. Al Hasaka Arabea also claimed that the Coalition did not distinguish between civilians and members of ISIS.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SO4HR) reported 200 people including ISIS members and their families were killed in alleged Coalition bombing on Al-Baghouz camp carried out on Tuesday March 19th. The source reported that among the victims were 160 civilians, including 45 children. The bodies were reportedly buried on Wednesday morning March 20th.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called for an independent investigation into what it described as “the massacre”. The Syrian Observatory questioned whether the international coalition knew during the bombing of the camp of the presence of children and women from the families of ISIS and why media was prevented from entering the area on the morning of March 20th.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SN4HR) reported a much lower number of individuals killed in aerial and ground attacks on Al Baghouz camp over the course of the last four days before the declared capture of Al Baghouz on March 23rd. The Syrian Network said that tens of individuals were killed, including women and children, most of whom were reported to be family members of ISIS members. The Network added that it was unable to specify the details of the attacks and the death tolls at the time of writing.

The Daily Beast included information that “By the second week of March, those emerging from the town told reporters “about bodies, body parts in the streets of women and children.” Reporting at night, as Coalition strikes in the near-distance hit parts of the town where women and children likely still sheltered, CNN’s Ben Wedeman said, “There have probably been a very high number of civilian casualties, fatalities as a result of the ferocity of the airstrikes, the artillery, the mortars as well as the heavy machine gun fire.”

In May 2019, the Coalition announced that it had assessed this allegation of civilian harm as non-credible, noting “the report contains insufficient information of the time, location and details to assess its credibility.” However, they have since admitted to the attack.

An in-depth report by the New York Times years later describes a scene in which a US military drone was circling Baghouz searching for military targets but only saw a crowd of women and children. Just minutes later, “Without warning, an American F-15E attack jet streaked across the drone’s high-definition field of vision and dropped a 500-pound bomb on the crowd, swallowing it in a shuddering blast. As the smoke cleared, a few people stumbled away in search of cover. Then a jet tracking them dropped one 2,000-pound bomb, then another, killing most of the survivors. It was March 18, 2019. At the U.S. military’s busy Combined Air Operations Center at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, uniformed personnel watching the live drone footage looked on in stunned disbelief, according to one officer who was there.“Who dropped that?” a confused analyst typed on a secure chat system being used by those monitoring the drone, two people who reviewed the chat log recalled. Another responded, “We just dropped on 50 women and children.” The initial battle damage assessment put the number of dead at about 70.

The Times investigation found that “the bombing had been called in by a classified American special operations unit, Task Force 9, which was in charge of ground operations in Syria. The task force operated in such secrecy that at times it did not inform even its own military partners of its actions. In the case of the Baghuz bombing, the American Air Force command in Qatar had no idea the strike was coming, an officer who served at the command center said.”

Conflicting information was given about what happened the day of the strikes. According to Central Command, recounted by the Times, “At about 10 a.m., local Syrian forces reported they were under fire and in danger of being overrun, and called for an airstrike, Central Command said. The task force drone tracked a group of fighters as they made their way through the camp to the area where the women and children sheltered. A 5th Special Forces Group officer in the task force looked at the drone footage and didn’t see any civilians, a task force officer said. But the drone he relied on had only a standard-definition camera. Central Command said there were no high-definition drones in the area that could get a better view of the target. The Special Forces officer gave the order to fire. With no precision missiles left, the command said, the ground commander called in 500- and 2,000-pound bombs. The strike log classified the strike as self-defense.”

However, a high-definition drone was available and it was steaming footage of the area to the operations center in Qatar. According to three people who viewed the footage, “two or three men — not 16 — wander through the frame near the crowd. They have rifles but do not appear to be maneuvering, engaging coalition forces or acting in a way that would seem to justify a self-defense strike with 2,000-pound bombs. A chat log used by analysts who were watching the footage noted the presence of women, children and a man with a gun, but did not mention any active combat, two people who viewed the log said.”

Key findings from the Times’ investigation include that there were makeshift tents in the area at the time of the strikes and that in the days following, when the Coalition had taken over the area, the site appeared to have been bulldozed.

US Central Command acknowledged the strike and told the New York Times that “80 people were killed but the airstrikes were justified. It said the bombs killed 16 fighters and four civilians. As for the other 60 people killed, the statement said it was not clear that they were civilians, in part because women and children in the Islamic State sometimes took up arms.”  “We abhor the loss of innocent life and take all possible measures to prevent them,” Capt. Bill Urban, the chief spokesman for the command, said in the statement. “In this case, we self-reported and investigated the strike according to our own evidence and take full responsibility for the unintended loss of life.”

In response to The New York Times’ report on the incident in Baghouz, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III “promised to revamp military procedures and hold top officers responsible for civilian harm, but he did not discuss any systemic problems that allowed civilian casualties to persist on battlefields in Syria and Afghanistan. He also did not say whether senior officers would be held accountable.”

The Times of Israel reported that in response to the Times’ investigation, Central Command said that their investigation found that the incident “the strike was “legitimate self-defense,” “proportional” and that “appropriate steps were taken to rule out the presence of civilians.” They also added their findings that 16 ISIS fighters and at least four civilians were killed and eight civilians were wounded.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4 – 300
  • (1–45 children)
  • Civilians reported injured
    8
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition
  • Known target
    ISIS
  • Belligerents reported killed
    16

Sources (18) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (18) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    On March 20th, RBSS published several pictures alongside a report that SDF "dug mass graves to bury those killed and even those merely injured" after taking control of Al-Baghouz.
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    On March 20th, RBSS published several pictures alongside a report that SDF "dug mass graves to bury those killed and even those merely injured" after taking control of Al-Baghouz.
  • The aftermath of alleged Coalition shelling on Al Baghouz camp, March 18th-19th, in which up to 300 civilians reportedly died (via RBSS)
  • The aftermath of alleged Coalition shelling of Al Baghouz camp, March 18th - 19th 2019, which allegedly killed dozens of civilians (via Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    On March 20th, RBSS published several pictures alongside a report that SDF "dug mass graves to bury those killed and even those merely injured" after taking control of Al-Baghouz.
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    On March 20th, RBSS published several pictures alongside a report that SDF "dug mass graves to bury those killed and even those merely injured" after taking control of Al-Baghouz.
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    On March 20th, RBSS published several pictures alongside a report that SDF "dug mass graves to bury those killed and even those merely injured" after taking control of Al-Baghouz.
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    On March 20th, RBSS published several pictures alongside a report that SDF "dug mass graves to bury those killed and even those merely injured" after taking control of Al-Baghouz.
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    On March 20th, RBSS published several pictures alongside a report that SDF "dug mass graves to bury those killed and even those merely injured" after taking control of Al-Baghouz.
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    On March 20th, RBSS published several pictures alongside a report that SDF "dug mass graves to bury those killed and even those merely injured" after taking control of Al-Baghouz.
  • On March 20th, RBSS published several pictures alongside a report that SDF "dug mass graves to bury those killed and even those merely injured" after taking control of Al-Baghouz.
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    On March 20th, RBSS published several pictures alongside a report that SDF "dug mass graves to bury those killed and even those merely injured" after taking control of Al-Baghouz.
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    On March 20th, RBSS published several pictures alongside a report that SDF "dug mass graves to bury those killed and even those merely injured" after taking control of Al-Baghouz.
  • On March 20th, RBSS published several pictures alongside a report that SDF "dug mass graves to bury those killed and even those merely injured" after taking control of Al-Baghouz.
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    On March 20th, RBSS published several pictures alongside a report that SDF "dug mass graves to bury those killed and even those merely injured" after taking control of Al-Baghouz.
  • On March 20th, RBSS published several pictures alongside a report that SDF "dug mass graves to bury those killed and even those merely injured" after taking control of Al-Baghouz.

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Known 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
    Insufficient information on the time and location
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    4–64
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    8
  • Stated location
    near al-Baghouz, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SFU794135
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • May 31, 2019
  • Mar. 18, 2019, near al-Baghouz, Syria, via Airwars report. The report contains insufficient information of the time, location and details to assess its credibility.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

TAMPA, Fla. –
November 16, 2021

Release # 20211116-01

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

While reviewing the investigation and coordinating the public statement regarding details of the U.S. airstrikes on March 18, 2019, in Baghouz, Syria, the CENTCOM Public Affairs shop misidentified the munitions used as two 2,000-pound precision guided munitions and one 500-pound precision guided munition.

In fact, all three munitions used were two different variants of precision-guided 500-pound bombs. The CENTCOM Public Affairs shop apologizes for the error.

- Captain Bill Urban, USN, U.S. Central Command Spokesman

French Military
  • English
    /
    Original

For March 13th-19th, France report that Task Force Wagram did not carry out any artillery missions. Aircraft carried out 57 sorties and there was one strike. It also provides a review of the four years of training of TF Narvik and Monsabert

CHAMMALSITUATION MILITAIRE DU THÉÂTREOffensive contre les dernières poches de Daech en SyrieEn moyenne vallée de l’Euphrate, les combats menés par les Forces démocratiquessyriennes, appuyés par la coalition, pour reconquérir le réduit de Baghouz continuent. Les combats sont intenses, la progression effective, mais lente, en raison de l’évacuation de nombreux civils, et de l’imbrication des combattants et des non combattants.Poursuite des actions en IrakLa situation sécuritaire est stable en Irak, et reste sous contrôle des Forces de sécurité intérieures qui poursuivent leur effort dans la lutte contre Daech.ACTIVITÉ DE LA FORCELe dispositif français déployé au Levant n’a pas évolué depuis la semaine dernière. Le groupe aéronaval participe toujours à l’opération Chammal : une frappe aérienne a été réalisée par ses Rafale cette semaine en appui des forces démocratiques syriennes.En parallèle, le groupement naval est intégré, en soutien associé, à l’opération Sea Gardian, opération maritime de l’OTAN qui accomplit actuellement trois tâches de sûreté maritime en Méditerranée : la constitution de capacités de sûreté maritime, la connaissance de la situation maritime, et la lutte contre le terrorisme.Enfin, la frégate britannique HMS Duncan a rejoint le groupe aéronaval cette semaine.Bilan des quatre ans de formation des TF Narvik et MonsabertDepuis mars 2015, en complément de l’appui feu aux troupes engagées au sol contre Daech, la France a déployé à Bagdad des militaires dont la mission est d’améliorer les capacités de commandement et les savoir-faire des troupes irakiennes. Deux Task Force (TF), Narvik et Monsabert, aux périmètres différents, ont été mises en place pour assurer cette mission.La TF Narvik prend part à la formation des forces spéciales de l’Iraki Counter Terrorism Service (ICTS), dans des domaines d’expertise immédiatement exploitables dans la lutte contre Daech : le combat en zone urbaine, le renseignement, le tir aux armes collectives et armes lourdes, la lutte contre les engins explosifs ou le sauvetage au combat.Les premiers mandats proposaient des instructions générales et spécialisées aux jeunes recrues et aux soldats expérimentés. L’ICTS est progressivement devenue autonome dans ces domaines et la TF Narvik porte désormais ses efforts sur la formation des cadres et des opérateurs spécialisés tout en perfectionnant à travers des stages dédiés des bataillons opérationnels de l’ICTS.Au bilan, la TF Narvik a formé plus de 8000 soldats et 300 instructeurs, et a mené des stages de perfectionnement au profit de plus de 3000 soldats, ce qui représente 25 % des actions de formation menées par la coalition pour l’ICTS.De son côté, la TF Monsabert fournit assistance et conseil (Advise and Assist — A2) à l’État-major et aux soldats de la 6e division d’infanterie, responsable notamment de la sécurisation de Bagdad.Dans le cadre de son partenariat avec la 6e division, la TF Monsabert a formé depuis sa création plus de 3300 soldats irakiens, et plus de 1700 formateurs.En constante évolution pour répondre aux besoins de ses partenaires irakiens, la TF Monsabert a récemment mis en place des cycles d’évaluation des savoir-faire fondamentaux des soldats de la 6e division. Plus de 4000 soldats irakiens ont déjà été passés au crible, permettant aux experts de la TF et au commandement de la 6è division de disposer d’une appréciation globale du niveau des différents régiments.Enfin, depuis 6 mois, dans le cadre de son partenariat avec l’école d’artillerie irakienne la TF Monsabert a formé 330 officiers et sous-officiers irakiens.Depuis quatre ans, ce sont au bilan plus de 20 000 soldats irakiens qui ont bénéficié de l’expertise de 1400 instructeurs français qui se sont relayés au sein de l’opération Chammal, dispensant 150 stages et participant à plus de 200 missions de conseil et d’appui.La Task Force Wagram en appui de l’offensive contre les dernières poches de Daech présentes dans la vallée de l’EuphrateLa Task Force (TF) Wagram continue d’appuyer les forces démocratiques syriennes contre Daech au sud de la ville d’Hajin.La TF Wagram n’a pas réalisé de missions de tir, depuis le territoire irakien, cette semaine (bilan du 13 au 19 mars inclus).Sorties air hebdomadaires (bilan du 13 au 19 mars inclus)Les aéronefs français basés en Jordanie et aux Émirats arabes unis, et projetés depuis le groupe aéronaval poursuivent leurs actions contre Daech, au sein de la coalition.Cette semaine, les aéronefs de l’opération Chammal ont réalisé 57 sorties aériennes (bilan du 13 au 19 mars inclus). Les Rafale français ont conduit 01 frappe cette semaine, réalisée par les aéronefs du groupe aeronaval.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4 – 300
  • (1–45 children)
  • Civilians reported injured
    8
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition
  • Known target
    ISIS
  • Belligerents reported killed
    16

Sources (18) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS598

Incident date

March 20, 2017

Location

المنصورة, Al Mansoura, Al Badiya school, Ar Raqqah, Syria

Geolocation

35.81629, 38.75647 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

In a major casualty incident at least 40 civilians died (and as many as 420 according to some claims) with dozens more injured in an alleged Coalition airstrike on the al Badiya school in Mansoura, which was said to have housed up to 100 displaced families.

Coalition commander Lt General Townsend later denied that the strike had killed civilians, stating prior to the conclusion of the Coalition’s own assessment that: “We had multiple corroborating intelligence sources from various types of intelligence that told us the enemy was using that school. And we observed it. And we saw what we expected to see. We struck it. We saw what we expected to see. Afterwards, we got an allegation that it wasn’t ISIS fighters in there; got a single allegation it wasn’t ISIS fighters in there; it was instead refugees of some sort in the school. Yet, not seeing any corroborating evidence of that. In fact, everything we’ve seen since then suggests that it was the 30 or so ISIS fighters that we expected to be there.”

Local monitors disagreed. In a video Jisr TV said: “Tens of people displaced were in that school and until now we couldn’t reach the school and don’t know what happened to them. Whether they evacuated the school or not is unknown before it was targeted by Coalition warplanes.” Qasioun added that “the Coalition carried out three raids on the school and it’s not clear how many people were killed. The school hosted displaced people from Aleppo.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights – also pointing towards the Coalition – put the death toll at 33, reporting: “One of the activists of the Syrian Observatory witnessed 33 bodies being pulled out of the rubble of the school which was destroyed by the Coalition’s warplanes, before members of the Islamic State came and kept people away. Additionally, two people were pulled out alive…Activists at the Observatory were unable to count the number of children and women among the 33 bodies because they were covered while they were pulled out.” Step news agency said that the number of deaths had risen to “more than 50 following Coalition raids targeting the town at noon today”.

The majority of sources stressed that most of the victims were women and children. Smart News was the only outlet providing specific figures, reporting a death toll of seven children and nine women. Smart went on to say that “according to another local source, the Islamic State organization demanded that civilians in the western and southern parts of al-Raqqa evacuate their schools and medical centers because they were being targeted by the coalition ‘for the possibility of being headquarters of the organization.’”

Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently meanwhile reported that the “the international coalition dropped leaflets on Al Mansoura and the surrounding villages warning residents to leae their homes after 9pm”.

There were some claims of much higher casualties. According to Raqqa Post the death toll may have been as high as 100: “The school hosted more than 50 families from Maskanah, Homs and other places and there are reports, which are not yet confirmed, that over 100 were killed and many more were wounded. Rescue operations are still taking place.” Baladi put the number killed still higher at 200 civilians – “mostly women and children” – with dozens more injured, adding that the school was completely destroyed. Al Natek also put the number killed at 200.

Q_Alenzy said that the school held 300 displaced people, of which 50 men were outside the building at the time of the attack. The source said it hadn’t yet managed to document the total number of deaths, though it reported that three families had died. According to Euphrates Post, the school was hosting even more refugees, up to “500 displaced women and children”.

A report by Syria News Desk did not refer to the al Badiya school specifically, but alleged that there had been “four raids on two schools inhabited by displaced people from eastern Aleppo. Two houses near the school were hit.” Additionally, “the media activist Mohammed Osman, quoting civilian sources from inside Mansoura, told the Syrian News Agency that the search for missing persons was still ongoing, especially as the raids caused the complete collapse of the two buildings, extensive destruction to the surrounding houses and the combustion of cars and motorcycles”.

As more reports came in, the claimed death toll continued to rise, with one local Mansoura group alleging that it had reached 275 – and specifically blaming “American warplanes”. Mansoura in its Peoples’ Eyes claimed an even higher figure: “420 martyrs with people still looking for survivors”.

A subsequent report by Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently said that “the initial death toll for the massacre at Al Badiya school in Al Mansoura committed by the international coalition at dawn yesterday is 183. The bodies are still being pulled out and the number is expected to rise as there was 105 families present at the school.”

In its July 2017 civilian casualty report, the Coalition said it found insufficient evidence that civilians were killed: “March 20, 2017, near Al Mansura, Syria, via social media report: After review of available information and strike video it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find that civilians were harmed in this strike.”

In September 2017, Human Rights Watch published the findings of a major field investigation into the incident. The report said the Coalition attack took place at around 11pm local time at GPS co-ordinates 35.817220, 38.756306 – and had killed at least 40 named civilians. It said the dead included both IDPs and families of ISIS fighters.

Following Human Right Watch’s report, the Coalition re-opened and re-assessed the Al Mansoura school allegation. In late June 2018 it concluded it was responsible for killing 40 civilians: “(2.) March 20, 2017, near Raqqah, Syria via social media report. The report was reopened after the receipt of new evidence from Human Rights Watch. During a strike on Daesh militant multifunctional center allegedly caused civilian casualties. Forty civilians were unintentionally killed.”

Later on the Coalition provided Airwars with the military grid reference of the strike (37SDV780636), placing it at the al Badiya school in Mansoura.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (1)

Khalif Al-Ayto and his entire family
Age unknown male killed

Family members (1)

Kitan Al’amash and his family
Age unknown male killed

Family members (4)

Adult male source said 2 or more children so number could be higher killed
Adult female killed
Child killed
Child killed

Family members (1)

Family members (1)

Mohammed Jum’a Al-Hadid and his family
Age unknown male killed

Family members (18)

Saleh Mohammad al Jassem family 1
Age unknown displaced from eastern Aleppo killed
Saleh Mohammad al Jassem family 2
Age unknown displaced from eastern Aleppo killed
Saleh Mohammad al Jassem family 3
Age unknown displaced from eastern Aleppo killed
Saleh Mohammad al Jassem family 4
Age unknown displaced from eastern Aleppo killed
Saleh Mohammad al Jassem family 5
Age unknown displaced from eastern Aleppo killed
Saleh Mohammad al Jassem family 6
Age unknown displaced from eastern Aleppo killed
Saleh Mohammad al Jassem family 7
Age unknown displaced from eastern Aleppo killed
Saleh Mohammad al Jassem family 8
Age unknown displaced from eastern Aleppo killed
Saleh Mohammad al Jassem family 9
Age unknown displaced from eastern Aleppo killed
Saleh Mohammad al Jassem family 10
Age unknown displaced from eastern Aleppo killed
Saleh Mohammad al Jassem family 11
Age unknown displaced from eastern Aleppo killed
Saleh Mohammad al Jassem family 12
Age unknown displaced from eastern Aleppo killed
Saleh Mohammad al Jassem family 13
Age unknown displaced from eastern Aleppo killed
Saleh Mohammad al Jassem family 14
Age unknown displaced from eastern Aleppo killed
Saleh Mohammad al Jassem family 15
Age unknown displaced from eastern Aleppo killed
Saleh Mohammad al Jassem family 16
Age unknown displaced from eastern Aleppo killed
Saleh Mohammad al Jassem family 17
Age unknown displaced from eastern Aleppo killed
Saleh Mohammad al Jassem family 18
Age unknown displaced from eastern Aleppo killed

Family members (5)

Adult female named by the Violations Documentation Center as victims from Palmyra killed
Adult female named by the Violations Documentation Center as victims from Palmyra killed
Child female named by the Violations Documentation Center as victims from Palmyra killed
Child female named by the Violations Documentation Center as victims from Palmyra killed
Child female named by the Violations Documentation Center as victims from Palmyra killed

Family members (2)

Manaf Hussein al A’thab
Adult male named by the Violations Documentation Center as victims from Palmyra killed
Wife of Manaf Hussein al A’thab
Adult female named by the Violations Documentation Center as victims from Palmyra killed

Family members (4)

Ibrahim al-Ibrahim al-Farhoud
40 years old male named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives) killed
Halima al-Hamdi, wife of Ibrahim
Adult female named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives) killed
Isma’il
2 years old male named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives) killed
Ahmed
5 years old male named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives) killed

Family members (5)

Isma’il al-Ibrahim al-Farhoud, (son of Dahiya)
35 years old male named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives) killed
Ala
7 years old female named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives) killed
Amal
5 years old female named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives) killed
Malak
3 years old female named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives) killed
Adel
2 months years old male named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives) killed

Family members (4)

Ahmad al-Farhoud
Age unknown male named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives), Family of Ahmad al-Farhoud (cousin of Ibrahim and Isma’il) killed
Nuha al-Farhoud, wife of Ahmad al-Farhoud
Adult female named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives), Family of Ahmad al-Farhoud (cousin of Ibrahim and Isma’il) killed
Alyan
Child female under age of 10, named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives), Family of Ahmad al-Farhoud (cousin of Ibrahim and Isma’il) killed
Lana
Child female under age of 8, named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives), Family of Ahmad al-Farhoud (cousin of Ibrahim and Isma’il) killed

Family members (7)

‘Idan Ramadan
50 years old male named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives) killed
Zahra, first wife of ‘Idan
Adult female named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives) killed
Naser Ramadan, son of ‘Idan and Zahra
Child male around 13, named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives) killed
Mansour Ramadan, son of ‘Idan and Zahra
9 years old male named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives) killed
‘Alia, second wife of ‘Idan
Adult female named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives) killed
Mohammad, son of ‘Idan and ‘Alia
15 years old male named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives) killed
Kafa’, daughter of ‘Idan and ‘Alia
Child female named by HRW, displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives) killed

Family members (3)

Maha Khalid al-Salameh
30 years old named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed
Ali Zuheir al-Khalid
7 years old male named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed
Mohammad Zein Zuhair al-Khalid
5 years old male named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed

Family members (6)

Muwaffaq Jum’a al-Kharaz
40 years old male named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed
Khitam Khaled Salama al-Du’as
38 years old female named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed
Malak Muwafaq al-Kharaz
8 years old female named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed
Hanin Muwafaq al-Kharaz
5 years old female named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed
Kafa’ Jum’a al-Kharaz
33 years old female named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed
Jawhara Jum’a al-Kharaz
30 years old female named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed

Family members (10)

Khaled Salama
70 years old male named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed
Muna Mahmoud al-Kubba
57 years old female named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed
Muhammad Khaled Salama
28 years old male named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed
Ahmad Khaled Salama
25 years old male named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed
Asma’ Khaled Salama
22 years old female named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed
Yasmine Khaled Salama
20 years old female named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed
Maha Khaled Salama
18 years old female named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed
Nur Khaled Salama
15 years old female named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed
Munaf Hussein al-‘azab
35 years old male named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed
Fatima Akram Muhammad al-Eid
33 years old female named by HRW, displaced from the Tadmor (Palmyra) and Sukhna areas (information collected from relatives) killed

The victims were named as:

Adult female killed
Mohammad Zein Suhair Rabiji
Child male named by the Violations Documentation Center as victims from Palmyra killed
Dahiya Ramadan
Adult displaced from the village of Maskanah (information collected from relatives), around 60, wife of Adel al-Farhoud killed

Summary

  • Civilian infrastructure
    School
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    40 – 420
  • (16 children15 women10 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    50–56
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (73) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (19) [ collapse]

  • The aftermath of a confirmed Coalition strike on a school in Al Mansoura, March 21st 2017. (via Mansoura in its People's Eyes)
  • The aftermath of a confirmed Coalition strike on a school in Al Mansoura, March 21st 2017. (via Mansoura in its People's Eyes)
  • Ruins of Badiya School, Mansoura, following an alleged Coalition strike, March 21st 2017. (via Mansoura facebook private messages between Airwars and the pages admin)
  • Ruins of Badiya School, Mansoura, following an alleged Coalition strike, March 21st 2017. (via Mansoura facebook private messages between Airwars and the pages admin)
  • A news bulletin reporting on the alleged Coalition airstrike on Al Mansoura, 20th March 2017. (via JisirTV)
  • The aftermath of a confirmed Coalition strike on a school in Al Mansoura, March 21st 2017. (via RBSS)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Mohammad Zuheir Rabiji, killed in a confirmed Coalition strike on a school in Al Mansoura, March 20th 2017. (via Palmyra Media Centre)
  • Mohammad Zuheir Rabiji, killed in a confirmed Coalition strike on a school in Al Mansoura, March 20th 2017. (via Palmyra Media Centre)
  • A video showing a compilation of photographs from the Coalition airstrike on Al Mansoura, 20th March 2017. (via Palmyra Media Centre)
  • Photo from the opening of the Badia school in Syria in 2009. (via HRW 2017)
  • The aftermath of a confirmed Coalition strike on a school in Al Mansoura, March 21st 2017. (via Human Rights Watch September 2017)
  • The aftermath of a confirmed Coalition strike on a school in Al Mansoura, March 21st 2017. (via Human Rights Watch September 2017)
  • The aftermath of a confirmed Coalition strike on a school in Al Mansoura, March 21st 2017. (via Human Rights Watch September 2017)
  • A report on the US led Coalition airstrike on Al Mansoura, 20th March 2017. (via Human Rights Watch)
  • Amal Ahmed Masri, killed in a confirmed Coalition strike on a school in Al Mansoura, March 20th 2017. (via RBSS)
  • Amal Ahmed Masri, killed in a confirmed Coalition strike on a school in Al Mansoura, March 20th 2017. (via RBSS)
  • Deutscher Bundestag Written question. 7 April 2017.

  • Bundestag written question. 10th April 2017.

  • Bundestag Question: Drucksache 18 / 12185 Answer.

Geolocation notes (2) [ collapse]

The undisputed location for Al Badida School (مدرسة البادية) in the town of Al Mansoura (المنصورة) is: 35.81629, 38.75647

  • Al Badida School compound (مدرسة البادية) before the airstrike.

    Date taken:
    January 4, 2016

    Imagery:
    © 2018 Google

  • Al Badida School compound (مدرسة البادية) after the airstrike.

    Date taken:
    May 30, 2017

    Imagery:
    © 2018 Google

CJTF–OIR Declassified Assessment and Press Release

Attached to this civilian harm incident is a provisional reconciliation of the Pentagon's declassified assessment of this civilian harm allegation, based on matching date and locational information.

The declassified documents were obtained by Azmat Khan and the New York Times through Freedom of Information requests and lawsuits filed since March 2017, and are included alongside the corresponding press release published by the Pentagon. Airwars is currently analysing the contents of each file, and will update our own assessments accordingly.

Declassified Assessment Press Release

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Known belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Credible / Substantiated
    The investigation assessed that although all feasible precautions were taken and the decision to strike complied with the law of armed conflict, unintended civilian casualties regrettably occurred.
  • Given reason for civilian harm
    No reason given
    Airwars’ assessment of belligerent’s civilian casualty statement
  • Initial Airwars grading
    Confirmed
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    40
  • Stated location
    near Raqqah, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SDV780636
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jun 28, 2018
  • March 20, 2017, near Raqqah, Syria via social media report. The report was reopened after the receipt of new evidence from Human Rights Watch. During a strike on Daesh militant multifunctional center allegedly caused civilian casualties. Forty civilians were unintentionally killed.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For March 20th-21st the Coalition stated: “Near Ar Raqqah, 19 strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units; destroyed four petroleum oil lubricant equipment pieces, three barges, three fighting positions, three ISIS headquarters, two VBIED facilities, two VBIEDs, a VBIED factory, a tunnel, a vehicle, a weapons storage facility, and a command and control node; and damaged two supply routes.”

Summary

  • Civilian infrastructure
    School
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    40 – 420
  • (16 children15 women10 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    50–56
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (73) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS1398

Incident date

August 22, 2017

Location

السخاني, Sukhani neighbourhood, near Hani mosque, Ar Raqqah, Syria

Geolocation

35.9522, 39.0164 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

In a major casualty incident, as many as between 33 and 60 civilians, including many women and children, died following US-led Coalition airstrikes on Al-Sakhani, Raqqa. Almost a year later the US-led alliance accepted responsibility for 33 deaths.

According to Baladi, the strike was near the Al-Hani mosque, while Qasioun reported that one of the strikes hit a building in which civilians were sheltering.

Local media reported that the airstrike occurred on the 20th August, however recent up to date Amnesty field research conducted has reported the strike to have occurred on the 22nd at 7pm.

Local media reported that the majority of those killed were from the same family. A Tweet by @AhmadShblii identified eight of the victims as displaced persons from Palmyra.

All sources obtained held the US-led Coalition responsible for the alleged massacre. In addition to the civilians that died, “dozens” were suspected injured.

Albosleh and @LaSyrianNews put the death toll as high as 60.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which also blamed the Coalition, the 42 civilians it said were killed in the strikes included 19 children. This report may have conflated another, however.

A June 2018 report by Amnesty stated that on 20 August 2017 at 7pm, “Coalition forces simultaneously bombed the two neighbouring houses in which the family were staying.” These air strikes reportedly killed 33 Badran family members and other civilians, mostly women and children. A large number of civilians killed in the airstrike were identified in the report.

In its July 2018 civilian casualty report, the Coalition accepted responsibility for the event: “August 20, 2017, near Raqqah, Syria, via Amnesty International report. During a strike on a reported Daesh position near a residential area allegedly caused civilian casualties. Thirty three civilians were unintentionally killed.”

The Coalition provided Airwars with the location of this incident, accurate to within a 100 metre box.

In the Amnesty and Airwars’s joint April 2019 report “War in Raqqa: Rhetoric versus Reality” it was reported that “Thirty-three members of the Badran Family and neighbours, most of them women and children, were killed in the third and most devastating set of four separate air strikes which killed a total of 39 family members and 10 neighbours as they fled from neighbourhood to neighbourhood in search of safety.”

In addition to this, Rasha, a survivor of the strike told Amnesty in a testimony that “Only I, my husband and his brother and cousin survived. In the morning we found Tulip’s body; our baby was dead. We buried her near there, by a tree. I don’t understand why they bombed us. Didn’t the surveillance planes see that we were civilian families?”

The incident occured at 19:00:00 local time.

The victims were named as:

Family members (33)

Shamsa al Badran Bint Mustafa
40 years old female killed
Sahar Mohammad Ahmad al Badran
17 years old female Mohammad's daughter killed
Saja Mohammad Ahmad al Badran
15 years old male Mohammad's daughter killed
Ahmad Mohammad Ahmad al Badran
13 years old male Mohammad's son killed
Hamza Mohammad Ahmad al Badran
11 years old male Mohammad's son killed
Daham Mohammad Ahmad al Badran
4 years old male Mohammad's son killed
Saddiqa al Badran Bint Mustafa
38 years old female Shamsa’s sister, Ismael's wife killed
Mundher Ismail al Saaid
12 years old male Ismael's and Shamsa's son, twin of Sidra killed
Sidra Ismail al Saaid
12 years old female twin of Mundher killed
Aseel Ismail al Saaid
6 years old female Ismael's and Shamsa's daughter
Sumaya al Badran bint Mustafa
45 years old female widow, no children killed
Abta al Badran bint Mustafa
50 years old female widow killed
Qays Mohammad al Sahu
24 years old male Abta's son killed
Mays Mohammad al Sahu
18 years old female Abta's daughter killed
Khud al Badran bint Mustafa
48 years old female divorced killed
Rana Hsein al-Shammari
18 years old female Khud's daughter killed
Thuraya al Badran bint Mustafa
55 years old female killed
Ibrahim
early 30s years old male Thuraya's son killed
Madonna
mid-late 20s years old female Ibrahim's wife killed
Thuraya's nephew 1
Child male killed
Thuraya's nephew 2
Child male killed
Thuraya's niece
Child female killed
Mohammad Khalil
30 years old male killed
Ali al Badran ibn Mustafa
44 years old male no children killed
Ibrahim Fahd Ibn Wahab al-Khadr
70 years old male killed
Khadija al Sahu
60 years old female Ibrahim's wife killed
Tulip Fahd bint AbdulWahab Abbude
1 years old female Rasha's and Abbude's daughter killed
Osama Ibrahim Fahd
32 years old male Abbude's brother killed
Mohamed Imbrahim Fahd
28 years old male Abbude's brother killed
Souad
50 years old female Iraqi national, wife of local man killed
Abu Riad
60s years old male Souad's husband killed
Maha
mid 20s years old female daughter of Souad and Abu Riad killed
Amina al Raqim
60s years old female unmarried, was with Souad and Abu Riad killed

Summary

  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    33 – 60
  • (12–19 children12–13 women3–8 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–24
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (41) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (31) [ collapse]

  • Khalil Ibrahim Albadran, killed in an alleged Coalition strike near Al-Hini Mosque, (via RBSS)
  • ' Türkçe · Kurdî (Kurmancî) · العربية · English (UK) · Español Gizlilik · Koşullar · Reklamlar · Ad Choices · Çerezler · Diğer Facebook © 2017 Syrian Network for Human Rights - الشبكة السورية لحقوق الإنسان 6 saat · The women Thuraya, Sumayya, Abtta, Khood, Seddiqa, and Shamsa Mustafa al Daham, killed along with 11 members of their family in International Coalition warplanes missiles fired on al Sakhani alley north of Raqqa city, Aug 20.' (via SN4HR)
  • Shahid Abu Aboudabrahim Al Wahab, killed in an alleged Coalition strike on Raqqa (via Sharqiya Voice)
  • Mustafa Al-Badran (via RBSS)
  • Ibrahim Khalil Al-Badran (via RBSS)
  • Qais Mohammed Al-Khader (via RBSS)
  • Sama Ibrahim Al-Badran (via RBSS)
  • Mohammed Ibrahim Abdulwahab Al-Fahed (via RBSS)
  • Ali Ibrahim Al-Badran (via RBSS)
  • Photo of the aftermath of the air strike (via RWB)
  • Tulip Badran (via Amnesty)
  • Aftermath of the air strike (via Amnesty)
  • Members of Al-Badran family killed in the air strike (via Amnesty)
  • Satellite images of the destroyed house in the air strike (via Amnesty)
  • Abta, killed in a mass civilian casualty airstrike by alleged Coalition planes on August 22nd 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Ahmad, killed in a mass civilian casualty airstrike by alleged Coalition planes on August 22nd 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Ali al Badran ibn Mustapha, killed in a mass civilian casualty airstrike by alleged Coalition planes on August 22nd 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Daham, killed in a mass civilian casualty airstrike by alleged Coalition planes on August 22nd 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Hamza, killed in a mass civilian casualty airstrike by alleged Coalition planes on August 22nd 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Khadja, killed in a mass civilian casualty airstrike by alleged Coalition planes on August 22nd 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Madonna Daham, killed in a mass civilian casualty airstrike by alleged Coalition planes on August 22nd 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Mays, killed in a mass civilian casualty airstrike by alleged Coalition planes on August 22nd 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Osama, killed in a mass civilian casualty airstrike by alleged Coalition planes on August 22nd 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Qays, killed in a mass civilian casualty airstrike by alleged Coalition planes on August 22nd 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Saddiqa, killed in a mass civilian casualty airstrike by alleged Coalition planes on August 22nd 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Sahar, killed in a mass civilian casualty airstrike by alleged Coalition planes on August 22nd 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Saja, killed in a mass civilian casualty airstrike by alleged Coalition planes on August 22nd 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Shamsa, killed in a mass civilian casualty airstrike by alleged Coalition planes on August 22nd 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Sidra, killed in a mass civilian casualty airstrike by alleged Coalition planes on August 22nd 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Thuraya, killed in a mass civilian casualty airstrike by alleged Coalition planes on August 22nd 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Tulip Tuteh, killed in a mass civilian casualty airstrike by alleged Coalition planes on August 22nd 2017. (via Amnesty)

Geolocation notes (2) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention the Al Sakhani (السخاني) neighbourhood of Raqqah, near the Al Hani (الحني) mosque, for which the coordinates are: 35.951373, 39.016984. Following field research by Amnesty International, the incident was found credible by the US-led Coalition, who provided the following MGRS coordinate (accurate to 100m): 37SEV014786.

  • Before strike. (via Amnesty)

  • After strike. (via Amnesty)

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Known belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Credible / Substantiated
    The investigation assessed that although all feasible precautions were taken and the decision to strike complied with the law of armed conflict, unintended civilian casualties regrettably occurred.
  • Given reason for civilian harm
    No reason given
    Airwars’ assessment of belligerent’s civilian casualty statement
  • Initial Airwars grading
    Confirmed
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    33
  • Stated location
    near Raqqah, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SEV014786
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jul 26, 2018
  • August 20, 2017, near Raqqah, Syria, via Amnesty International report. During a strike on a reported Daesh position near a residential area allegedly caused civilian casualties. Thirty three civilians were unintentionally killed.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For August 19th-20th: “Near Raqqah, five strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed three fighting positions.” It additionally added that “On Aug. 19, near Raqqah, Syria, 36 strikes engaged 22 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 29 fighting positions and seven command and control nodes.” That “On Aug. 19, near Raqqah, Syria, six strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed five fighting positions, an IED, and a command and control node.” And that “On Aug. 19, near Raqqah, Syria, one strike suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.”

French Military
  • English
    /
    Original

For Aug 16-22, France report 5 strikes in Iraq and 2 in Syria. Task Force Wagram conducted 60 artillery missions.

UK Military
  • English
    /
    Original

‘Sunday 20 August – Tornados and Typhoons hit a target in Raqqa, a group of terrorists and vehicles in eastern Syria, and five Daesh positions around Tal Afar…On Sunday 20 August, Typhoons bombed a further Daesh position in Raqqa. In eastern Syria, Tornados targeted a group of terrorists deployed near the border with Iraq – two Paveways hit their trucks and killed several of the extremists.

Summary

  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    33 – 60
  • (12–19 children12–13 women3–8 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–24
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (41) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI760

Incident date

June 13, 2017

Location

الشفاء, الموصل‎, Al Shafaa, Mosul, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.351678, 43.118042 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A total of 35 people people from an extended family were killed, including 14 children, 9 women and two imams, when a home and street were bombed in the Al Shifa neighbourhood of Mosul. Sources said that the family were sheltering in the basement of the house.

Initial claims had placed the toll at 50, while the US-led Coalition estimated that 11 civilians were killed in the attack. Australia later explicitly accepted responsibility for part of the event – conceding between 6 and 18 deaths. Fifteen months later in May 2020, the United States accepted responsibility for a further 11 deaths in the event.

Relatives informed Airwars and others that in fact 35 named people died, from eight closely related families. There was only one survivor.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF’s) investigation was based on estimates of population density, not any on-the-ground research, and no contact was made with the affected family. However within hours of the official announcement of civilian harm, a surviving member of the family told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that the number of civilians killed was 35, including his brother, sister and other family members.

“My brother has lost all of his family. The number of the family members who died are 35,” said Sheikh Ayman el Saffar. Sheikh Ayman said his brother’s property was also used as a religious community centre.

“The house was hit, they lost money and a religious community centre. He had this religious community centre at that time he used it as his private house. There were no activities at the community centre at the time.”

The New York Times interviewed Kareema Khalid Suleiman, the only survivor, who told the reporter that the family had gathered for safety in a house in the Al Shifaa neighborhood but when the home was hit, 33 people were killed. “As the house was consumed in flames, she managed to crawl out of a tiny hole, but no one else could make it. Behind her, a younger relative had managed to make it partly up the staircase. “My last words to her were: ‘Please, I’m going to help you. Come to me.’ And when they pulled me out, she was closing her eyes, and she died.”

According to the international alliance, there were strikes by two separate Coalition allies in the near vicinity on the day – each of which killed civilians. Australia accepted responsibility on January 31st 2019 for between 6 and 18 deaths in one of the strikes during the incident, while on the same day the Coalition’s civilian casualty assessment team declared a minimum of 11 deaths. This was later revealed to have been a separate US action. The Coalition provided Airwars with the location of this incident, accurate to within a 100 metre box.

Ateka Facebook page said on the day of the incident that Sheikh Mohammed Ghanim Al-Saffar – who was an Imam and preacher at the Sheikh Fathi Mosque in Mosul – died after aircraft targeted a sniper standing on the roof and bombed his house. The page said that his body was still under the rubble, together with his family.

Other outlets, including Yaqein and MNN, reported that 50 people in total were under the rubble of the house and presumed dead.

However Sawefa Ateka later reported that some were rescued: “The martyrdom of Madh Muhammad al-Saffar and the rescue of the family of Sheikh Ahmad al-Saffar and the other families who were exposed to their house in Al Shifa neighbourhood for aerial bombing Thank you to the rescue teams and the security forces there.”

Another entry listed the following victims: “The family of Mullah Youssef mourns the family of Al-Saffar by the martyr Sheikh Mohammed Ghanim Al-Saffar in front of the preacher of the Sheikh Fathi Mosque and his family and Sheikh Ahmed Ghanim Al-Saffar Imam and preacher of the Sheikh Muhsin Mosque and his family; and their brother Ammar Ghanem Al-Saffar and his family; and their cousin and their relative Raed Abdul Salam Al-Saffar and many people, after the fall of a missile from the plane on their house, which led to the fall of the house on them I am God and I return to him.”

Sheikh Mohammed Ghanim Al-Saffar was described by Qoraish as “one of ISIS’s most formidable enemies”.

@sonawa1 tweeted that civilians were “trapped under the rubble of the house of Abdul Ghani Halawaji”. It is likely that Abdul Ghani Halawaji is a misspell – with Halawaji possibly referring to the village the family originally came from – rather than the Mosul neighbourhoood from which they now take their name.

Australia’s Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, spoke about the event following the ADF’s concession: “It is not clear what precisely went on. But I know our Defence force people will always be doing everything they can to ensure casualties are avoided.” The PM also described the event as “a terrible incident”, with the deaths of civilians “difficult and tragic.”

Airwars conducted an extensive interview with Engineer Amjad al Saffar, a family elder, in February 2019, in which the names of all victims were handed over.

In May 2020 in its annual civilian harm report to Congress, the Pentagon confirmed that US forces had been responsible for at least 11 deaths in this event. Asked to comment from Mosul on the Pentagon’s recent admission that its aircraft too had played a role in the mass casualty event, Engineer Amjad told Airwars: “As a well known and respected Mosul family, we feel both very sad and disappointed to learn of the US’s confession – three years after our catastrophe.- of their own role in an airstrike which killed so many. Along with Australia we hold the US fully responsible for our heavy loss of 35 family members, and demand both an apology and financial compensation.”

The incident occured at 10:00:00 local time.

The victims were named as:

Family members (5)

Ammar Ghanim Ali Mohamed Al Saffar
61 years old male Brother of Sheikh Mohammed killed
Ahlam Ali Jasim Al Tai
56 years old female Wife of Ammar killed
Shahad Ammar Ghanim Ali Mohamed Al Saffar
13 years old female killed
Sara Ammar Ghanim Ali Mohamed Al Saffar
10 years old female killed
Ghanim Ammar Ghanim Ali Mohamed Alsaffar
16 years old male killed

Family members (8)

Mohamed Ghanim Ali Mohamed Al Saffar
48 years old male killed
Muna Esma t Abdulrahman Al Bakua
43 years old female killed
Madeh Mohamed Ghanim Ali Al Saffar
21 years old male killed
Mawdda Mohamed Ghanin Ali Mohamed Al Saffar
19 years old female killed
Safiah Mohmed Ghanim Ali Mohmed Al Saffar
16 years old female killed
Malak Mohamed Ghanim Ali Mohmed Al Saffar
13 years old female killed
Maram Mohmed Ghanim Ali Mohamed Al Saffar
10 years old female killed
Rehana Mohamed Ghanim Ali Mohmed Al Saffar
5 years old female killed

Family members (6)

Ahmed Ghanim Ali Mohmed Al Saffar
47 years old male killed
Amna Sabah Hussen Ali Mohmed Al Saffar
33 years old female killed
Teba Ahmed Ghanim Ali Mohmed Al Saffar
16 years old female killed
Rehma Ahmed Ghanim Ali Mohmed Al Saffar
14 years old female killed
Ameer Ahmed Ghanim Ali Mohmed Al Saffar
9 years old male killed
Reem Ahmed Ghanim Ali Mohmed Al Saffar
4 years old female killed

Family members (6)

Raed Abdelsalam Ali Mohmed Al Saffar
55 years old male killed
Asma Ghanim Ali Mohmed Al Saffar
52 years old female killed
Wisam Raed Abdelsalam Ali Mohamed Al Saffar
25 years old male killed
Mustafa Raed Abdelsalam Ali Mohmed Al Saffar
22 years old male killed
Bilal Raed Abdelsam Ali Mohaned Al Saffar
19 years old male killed
Fatima Raed Abdelsalam Ali Mohmed Al Saffar
15 years old female killed

Family members (2)

Nadia Ghanim Ali Mohamed Al Saffar
57 years old female killed
Mumen Oqba Mohmed
25 years old male killed

Family members (2)

Ayser Abdelhameed Ali Mohamed Al Saffar
45 years old male killed
Awrad Ayser Abdelhameed Ali Mohmed Al Saffar
13 years old female killed

Family members (4)

Arzak Andelhameed Ali Mohamed Al Saffar
54 years old female killed
Zahra Khalid Selman Mohamed Taha
21 years old female killed
Sura Khalid Selman Mohamed Taha
19 years old female killed
Ali Khalid Selman Mohamed Taha
18 years old male killed

Family members (2)

Salheh Hani Hassan Ali Mohamed Al Saffar
32 years old male killed
Maram Saleh Hani Hassan Ali Al Saffar
1.5 years old female killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    35
  • (14 children9 women12 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition
  • Suspected attacker
    Unknown
  • Known target
    ISIS

Sources (27) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (18) [ collapse]

  • Sheikhs Mohamed and Ahmed Ghanim Al Saffar were popular local preachers – and a thorn in the side of their ISIS occupiers (Picture courtesy of the Al Saffar family. All rights reserved.)
  • Sheikh Mohammed Ghanem Al-Saffar and Sheikh Ahmed Ghanim Al-Saffar (via Mosul Ateka)
  • Nineveh Media Centre posted an image of the bombing location, in an effort to direct rescue services with the following message: 'Urgent Appeal 50 people in the house Al-Sheikh Ahmad Al-Saffar Al-Shifa neighbourhood was shelled today and the families in the house appeal to all the factions to rescue them. The nearest force to them is the Federal Police Force.'
  • Ammar Ghanim Ali Mohamed Al Saffar (Image courtesy of the Al Saffar family. All rights reserved)
  • Raed Abdelsalam Ali Mohmed Al Saffar (Image courtesy of the Al Saffar family.)
  • Ghanim Ammar Ghanim Ali Mohamed Al Saffar (Image courtesy of Al Saffar family)
  • Madeh Mohamed Ghanim Ali Al Saffar (Image courtesy of Al Saffar family)
  • Bilal Raed Abdelsam Ali Mohaned Al Saffar (Image courtesy of Al Saffar family)
  • Ameer Ahmed Ghanim Ali Mohmed Al Saffar, aged nine, had spent a third of his life under ISIS occupation when he died. He was one of 14 children killed on June 13th 2017 (Picture courtesy of the Al Saffar family. All rights reserved.)
  • Wisam and Mustafa Raed Abdelsalam Ali Mohamed Al Saffar (Image courtesy of the family)
  • Mumen Oqba Mohmed (Image courtesy of Al Saffar family)
  • Photo montage of some of the 35 victims of June 13th 2017 strikes by Australian and US aircraft, courtesy of the Al Saffar family.
  • Ruins of a family home in which 35 civilians died at Mosul on June 13th 2017 - in what is now known to have been US and Australian airstrikes (Image courtesy of the Al Saffar family. All rights reserved.)
  • Ruins of a family home in which 35 civilians died in Coalition strikes on June 13th 2017 (Image courtesy of the Al Saffar family. All rights reserved.)
  • Ruins of a family home in which 35 civilians died in Coalition strikes on June 13th 2017 (Image courtesy of the Al Saffar family. All rights reserved.)
  • The hole from which survivor Kareema escaped between strikes on a Mosul family home (Image courtesy of the Al Saffar family.)
  • Table from May 2020 Pentagon report to Congress, conceding additional US civilian harm events in Iraq and Syria during 2017.
  • Kareema Khalid Suleiman, the sole survivor of a Coalition strike on Mosul June 13, 2017. (Image from New York Times)

Geolocation notes (4) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention a residential building being struck in the Al Shifa neighbourhood (حي الشفاء) of western Mosul (الموصل‎). Analyzing visual material from Nineveh Media Centre, who provided a screenshot of the location, we were able to verify geolocate both Ibn Al Atheer Station (محطة ابن الاثير), and the house of Sheikh Ahmad Saffar (بيت الشيخ احمد الصفار). The exact coordinates for the house of Sheikh Ahmad Saffar are: 36.351678, 43.118042. Although Coalition has supplied Airwars with their coordinates (MGRS: 38SLF313241) for the strike, evidence supplied by local sources shows these to be innaccurate by atleast 531m.

  • Reports of the incident mention a residential building being struck in the Al Shifa neighbourhood (حي الشفاء) of western Mosul (الموصل‎). Analyzing visual material from Nineveh Media Centre, who provided a screenshot of the location, we were able to verify geolocate both Ibn Al Atheer Station (محطة ابن الاثير), and the house of Sheikh Ahmad Saffar (بيت الشيخ احمد الصفار).

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

  • Comparison of satellite imagery available on Google Earth. Right shows evidence of a residential building being struck in the vicinty of the petrol station mentioned by Nineveh Media Centre.

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

  • Imagery uploaded by Nineveh Media Centre intended to direct aid towards the residential building shows the location of the strike and landmarks in the vicinity.

    Imagery:
    Nineveh Media Centre

  • Although Coalition has supplied Airwars with their coordinates (MGRS: 38SLF313241) for the strike, evidence supplied by local sources shows these to be innaccurate by atleast 531m.

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Known belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Credible / Substantiated
    The investigation assessed that although all feasible precautions were taken and the decision to strike complied with the law of armed conflict, unintended civilian casualties regrettably occurred.
  • Given reason for civilian harm
    Inside target building
    Airwars’ assessment of belligerent’s civilian casualty statement
  • Initial Airwars grading
    Confirmed
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    17–29
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • MGRS coordinate
    38SLF313241
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jan 31, 2019
  • June 13, 2017, near al-Shifa neighbourhood, Mosul, Iraq via Airwars report. Coalition air assets struck multiple ISIS targets in defense of ground forces. Regrettably, since the targets were in the midst of residential structures, it is likely that 11 civilians were unintentionally killed as a result of two Coalition engagements on the same street.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For June 12th-13th the Coalition publicly stated: “Near Mosul, five strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units and destroyed 14 fighting positions, six mortar systems, two sniper positions, a weapons cache and a tactical vehicle.”

Unknown Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Unknown
  • Unknown position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    35
  • (14 children9 women12 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition
  • Suspected attacker
    Unknown
  • Known target
    ISIS

Sources (27) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI537

Incident date

March 13, 2017

Location

الموصل الجديدة, Mosul, Mosul al-Jadid / New Mosul, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.32944, 43.095 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Within 1m (via Coalition) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Relatives, local residents and press sources said up to 29 people from two families were killed after Coalition airstrikes struck their houses in the New Mosul neighborhood of West Mosul. The Coalition later conceded causing 27 deaths in the event.

According to Al Jazeera Iraq, 29 civilians, mostly children and women, were killed and many others were injured due to airstrikes and artillery shelling on the Monday evening. Other sources placed the event at 4pm to 5pm the following day.

Ahmad Al Jomaily reported on Facebook that “Ahmad Al-Abdullah al-Jumaili, his wife and his son Bashar al-Jumaili were killed” and other family members were missing.

Salih Alluhaiby also reported several victims, however without mentioning the names: “It moved to the mercy of God the compassionate, my sister and her daughter and her family and the family’s nephew after the bombing of Coalition aircraft in the New Mosul.”

Om Esraa posted a graphic video on Facebook and said: “Hours ago I communicated with parties in search of something to get us to the family of a disaster under the rubble in the New Mosul [neighbourhood], whose house was bombed the day before yesterday at ten in the morning (…)”.

The Los Angeles Times later reported the following: “Ihab Adnan was finishing removing 27 of his relatives who had been killed in his grandfather’s house in an airstrike on March 14 — a date outside the time frame the U.S.-led coalition is investigating. “Daesh was not letting us go out,” said Ihab Adnan, 35, a laborer, using a common term for Islamic State as he picked his way through the remains of his uncle’s house next door. Adnan pointed to a photo in the ruins of his 13-year-old cousin, Ali Ramadan, whose body was now zipped in a body bag. He said a series of airstrikes began at just after 5 p.m., and “everything was exploding.”

He could hear his relatives screaming next door. Adnan was screaming, too. He emerged to discover several families had been buried in their collapsed houses: 18 in his uncle’s house, 72 in a nearby home, 130 in another. He could hear some of the injured crying. “We were running and taking people out” of the ruins, Adnan said.”

Buzzfeed field investigators also placed the event on March 14th, providing the following incident report to Airwars:

“GPS Coordinates: 36.329583, 43.095028
Date and approximate time: March 14 at around 4pm
Casualties: 26 civilians killed, including nine family members of Yusuf Yahya Abed. This was one house that had been split into two. This was a kinetic strike, launched as part of an ISF assault into the neighborhood.
Comments: This is down the street from Site A. Residents couldn’t say for sure was the target could have been.”

In its September 2017 monthly casualty report, the Coalition accepted responsibility: “March 14, 2017, near Mosul, Iraq, via media report: During a strike on ISIS fighters engaging partner forces from a fighting position, it was assessed that 27 civilians in an adjacent structure were unintentionally killed.”

Officials also supplied coordinates to Airwars, which exactly matched those of the al Jadida event.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (3)

Ahmad Al-Abdullah al-Jumaili
Adult male Father killed
Wife of Ahmad Al-Abdullah al-Jumaili
Adult female Mother killed
Bashar al-Jumaili
Age unknown male Son killed

The victims were named as:

Ali Ramadan
13 years old male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    27 – 29
  • (2 children2 women2–3 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (9) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • The aftermath of alleged Coalition airstrikes on New Mosul neighbourhood, which caused the death of two families (via Al Jazeera)

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

  • The Military Grid Reference System coordinate (38SLF2901422174), accurate to 1 m, published by the US-led Coalition with their Credible assessment of the civilian harm incident.

    Imagery:
    © 2018 Google

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Known belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Credible / Substantiated
    The investigation assessed that although all feasible precautions were taken and the decision to strike complied with the law of armed conflict, unintended civilian casualties regrettably occurred.
  • Given reason for civilian harm
    Killed by strike blast
    Airwars’ assessment of belligerent’s civilian casualty statement
  • Initial Airwars grading
    Confirmed
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    27
  • Stated location
    near Mosul, Iraq
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    1 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    38SLF2901422174
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Sep 1, 2019
  • March 14, 2017, near Mosul, Iraq, via media report: During a strike on ISIS fighters engaging partner forces from a fighting position, it was assessed that 27 civilians in an adjacent structure were unintentionally killed.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For March 12th-13th the Coalition publicly stated: “Near Mosul, six strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units, an ISIS staging area and an ISIS sniper team; destroyed 16 fighting positions, five VBIEDs, four mortar systems, two rocket-propelled grenade systems, two supply caches, two VBIED factories, and a vehicle; damaged 22 supply routes; and suppressed 14 ISIS mortar teams, two ISIS tactical units, and an ISIS sniper team.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    27 – 29
  • (2 children2 women2–3 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (9) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS705

Incident date

April 18, 2017

Location

البوكمال, Abu Kamal, Deir Ezzor, Syria

Geolocation

34.44254, 40.92114 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Within 100m (via Coalition) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

In a major civilian casualty incident, up to 36 civilians including 14 children died and dozens more were wounded in airstrikes on Abu Kamal, near the Syrian-Iraqi border, according to local sources – though reports were conflicted as to whether the US-led Coalition or the Iraqi air force were liable. The Coalition later took responsibility for 25 deaths.

In its reporting at the time Shaam News pointed towards the Coalition, putting the death toll at 23, including five children, reporting that there had been “several rocket attacks on the vicinity of the Egyptian roundabout and the East School in front of the electricity company in the city.”

Euphrates Post also attributed the event to the Coalition – again putting the death toll at 23 which included 14 children, five women and four men, with dozens more injured. Its source reported that “At approximately 11:30 pm yesterday, the residential area in the vicinity of the Al Masriya roundabout at the end of Al-Maarri Street was hit by missiles and air strikes. According to eyewitnesses, this is the first time that the city of Al Bukamal has been targeted with these highly explosive missiles – thought to be land to land missiles. The targeted house belongs to one of the expatriates in the Gulf (Khalil al-Hamdan Abu Saif). His home had been occupied by Daesh who were using it as a headquarters and warehouse for weapons and equipment”.

Other sources put the death toll higher. For example, 811Syria, also blaming the Coalition, said that 26 Syrians died and four Iraqis. JisirTV put the number killed as high as 26 – and attributed the event to the Coalition. One source, AJA, referred specifically to “heavy American shelling”.

However, some other sources said that the Iraqi air force carried out the strikes: Al Jazeera, Shahba, Almo3tasem91, Orient and Yaqein referred to “Iraqi air raids” and “Iraqi warplanes”. Yaqein added “sources told us that ‘this attack is not the first carried out by Iraqi aircraft on sites inside Syrian territory.’”

Smart News Agency did not identify the culprit but said that “warplanes are likely to have launched several missile attacks on the vicinity of the Egyptian [al masri ] roundabout and the East School, opposite the electricity company”.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that three members of IS were also killed.

In addition to those named sources reported the death of four member of a displaced Iraqi family.

On July 7th, the Coalition confirmed responsibility for this event. In a release, it wrote: “April 17, 2017, near Abu Kamal, Syria, via social media report: During a strike on an ISIS headquarters building, it was assessed that 25 civilians were unintentionally killed and 40 were injured in adjacent structures by secondary explosions from the target building.”

In July 2019, the Coalition provided Airwars with the location for this incident accurate to within a 100 metre box.

The incident occured around midnight.

The victims were named as:

Family members (1)

Mohammed Jedaie
Adult male plus seven members of the family killed

Family members (1)

Mazen al-Mardoud
plus three members of the family killed

Family members (1)

Shawish family
four members killed

The victims were named as:

The wife of Abdul-Jabbar Thabet al-Taweel
Adult female killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    25 – 36
  • (14 children5 women1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    40
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (42) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (11) [ collapse]

  • The aftermath of an alleged Coalition raid on Abu Kamal, April 17th/18th (via Sharqiya Voice)
  • A photograph from Abu Kamal during an alleged Coalition night raid, April 17/18th (via Euphrates Post)
  • Abu Kamal in flames, the aftermath of alleged Coalition airstrikes April 17/18th (via Euphrates Post)
  • An update from UCAbilAraby: "The coalition strikes against Da'ash in Syria last Sunday resulted in the destruction of 25 targets of IS near the Al-Raqqa, Deir Al-Zour, and ABu Kamal" (via @USEmbassySyria) [Tweet posted April 18th]
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    A video still of a child civilian wounded by alleged Coalition strikes in Abu Kamal April 17/18th (via Shariqa Voice Facebook) [Original video no longer available]
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    A video still of a child civilian wounded by alleged Coalition strikes in Abu Kamal April 17/18th (via Shariqa Voice Facebook) [Original video no longer available]
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    A video still of a child civilian wounded by alleged Coalition strikes in Abu Kamal April 17/18th (via Shariqa Voice Facebook) [Original video no longer available]
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    A video still of a child civilian wounded by alleged Coalition strikes in Abu Kamal April 17/18th (via Shariqa Voice Facebook) [Original video no longer available]
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    A video still of a child civilian wounded by alleged Coalition strikes in Abu Kamal April 17/18th (via Shariqa Voice Facebook) [Original video no longer available]
  • Extensive material destruction in Abu Kamal, the impact of alleged Coalition airstrikes April 17/18th (via Sharqiya Voice)
  • The house of Khalil al Hamdan, reportedly targeted by the Coalition. According to the source it was occupied by IS and converted to a weapons store. The photo was taken before suspected strikes. (via Sharqiya Voice)

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Abu Kamal (also known as Al Bukamal, البوكمال) in Deir Ezzor governorate. The coordinates for Abu Kamal are: 34,466049, 40,907593. The Al Masriya (دوار المصرية) roundabout at the end of Al Maari street (نهاية شارع المعري) is mentioned. The coordinates for the Egyptian roundabout are: 34.442177, 40.923112. Prior to the Coalition releasing the MGRS for this incident, Airwars had geolocated it to the nearest city at 34.466049, 40.907593

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Known belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Credible / Substantiated
    The investigation assessed that although all feasible precautions were taken and the decision to strike complied with the law of armed conflict, unintended civilian casualties regrettably occurred.
  • Given reason for civilian harm
    Killed by secondary explosion(s), No reason given
    Airwars’ assessment of belligerent’s civilian casualty statement
  • Initial Airwars grading
    Confirmed
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    25
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    40
  • Stated location
    near Abu Kamal, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SFU765129
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jul 7, 2017
  • April 17, 2017, near Abu Kamal, Syria, via social media report: During a strike on an ISIS headquarters building, it was assessed that 25 civilians were unintentionally killed and 40 were injured in adjacent structures by secondary explosions from the target building.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For April 16th-17th, the Coalition reported: “Near Abu Kamal, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS vehicle.”

For April 17th-18th, the Coaltion reported: ” Near Dayr Az Zawr, four strikes destroyed four ISIS well heads, a command and control node and an ISIS vehicle.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    25 – 36
  • (14 children5 women1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    40
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (42) [ collapse]