US-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria

US-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria

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

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Incident Code

CI433

Incident date

January 18, 2017

Location

الزاب, Al Zab, Kirkuk, Iraq

Geolocation

35.2697714, 43.458867 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Multiple sources said that dozens of civilians were killed or injured when a Coalition airstrike hit a health center, a power station and a market in Zab town, southwest of Kirkuk.

Raedlay posted a video showing the aftermath of the strikes and the destruction of the health center. Correspondences Team said that four strikes had been carried out, blaming the Coalition.

Journalists had told Iraqyoon that the raids had killed and wounded dozens of civilian doctors, and had “destroyed the headquarters of the old ID office and medical clinic”.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 12
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–12
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (7) [ collapse]

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:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Non credible / Unsubstantiated
    Insufficient information to assess that, more likely than not, a Coalition strike resulted in civilian casualties.
  • Reason for non-credible assessment
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Al Zab, Iraq
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Oct 27, 2017

  • After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For January 17th-18th the Coalition did not report any strikes in Al Zab. However it said: “Near Huwayjah, one strike destroyed a weapons cache.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 12
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–12
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (7) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS470 RS1876

Incident date

February 1, 2017

Location

إدلب, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.93062, 36.63393 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A reported Coalition, or possibly Russian, airstrike which hit a Syrian Red Crescent hospital in Idlib injured up to a dozen civilians. The Coalition later denied involvement, though a unilateral US action remained possible.

The intended target of the dawn strike appeared to be the militant gropup Fatah al Sham at a base at the former Carlton Hotel. But numerous sources reported extensive damage to a Red Crescent hospital in the city. According to Shaam News “The bombing also caused the injury of nine members of the Red Crescent who were at the center during the raids, where the bombardment caused the interruption of the Centre’s work fully with the service.”

In a video it issued of the event, Step News interviewed a rescue worker at the scene: “At 3am we woke up to the noise of an air raid. We at the civil defence and the fire brigade headed to the target location and saw the Red Crescent centre/carlton hit with a missile that went through from the roof to the first floor. God was merciful as it didn’t reach at the way to the bottom where there were 30 members of the Red Crescent. They would’ve been hit. There are a few injured… we put the fires out and we took the injured to the hospitals.”

Four members of the local civil defence were also reportedly injured while attending the scene.

Multiple sources named Mamoun Kharbout, the head of the Syrian Red Crescent branch in Idlib, as one of the injured.

Most sources blamed the Coalition, although the Syrian Network said Russia may also have been responsible. In April the Coalition stated: “Feb. 1, 2017, near Idlib, Syria, via social media report: No Coalition strikes were conducted on that day in the geographic area of the reported civilian casualties.”

 

The incident occured around dawn.

The victims were named as:

Mamoun Kharbout
Adult male injured

Summary

  • Civilian infrastructure
    Healthcare facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Civilians reported injured
    5–12
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    US-led Coalition, Russian Military

Sources (29) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (18) [ collapse]

  • Idlib's Red Crescent hospital, damaged in a reported Coalition strike on February 1st 2017 (via Idlib Media Centre)
  • Idlib's Red Crescent hospital, damaged in a reported Coalition strike on February 1st 2017 (via Idlib Media Centre)
  • Idlib's Red Crescent hospital, damaged in a reported Coalition strike on February 1st 2017 (via Idlib Media Centre)
  • Idlib's Red Crescent hospital, damaged in a reported Coalition strike on February 1st 2017 (via Step)
  • Idlib's Red Crescent hospital, damaged in a reported Coalition strike on February 1st 2017 (via Step)
  • Idlib's Red Crescent hospital, damaged in a reported Coalition strike on February 1st 2017 (via Step)
  • Idlib's Red Crescent hospital, damaged in a reported Coalition strike on February 1st 2017 (via Step)
  • Idlib's Red Crescent hospital, damaged in a reported Coalition strike on February 1st 2017 (via Step)
  • Idlib's Red Crescent hospital, damaged in a reported Coalition strike on February 1st 2017 (via Bellingcat)
  • Members of the SARC Idlib branch pose with four ambulances in front of the Carlton Hotel. The picture was uploaded by their Facebook page on Jan. 17, 2017 (via Bellingcat)
  • Tweet by ICRC Syria (via Bellingcat)
  • Idlib's Red Crescent hospital, damaged in a reported Coalition strike on February 1st 2017 (via Bellingcat)
  • Idlib's Red Crescent hospital, damaged in a reported Coalition strike on February 1st 2017 (via Bellingcat)
  • Translation: Warplanes target the Red Crescent building with airstrikes.
  • Translation: Injured members of the Red Crescent in aerial bombardment on the Carlton Hotel, Idlib.
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:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Non credible / Unsubstantiated
    Insufficient information to assess that, more likely than not, a Coalition strike resulted in civilian casualties.
  • Reason for non-credible assessment
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Idlib, Syria
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Apr 1, 2017

  • No Coalition strikes were conducted on that day in the geographic area of the reported civilian casualties.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For January 31st-February 1st and February 1st-2nd the Coalition noted no strikes in the vicinity. However unilateral US strikes against Fatah al Sham are no longer reported by CJTFOIR.

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian infrastructure
    Healthcare facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Civilians reported injured
    5–12
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    US-led Coalition, Russian Military

Sources (29) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI459

Incident date

February 14, 2017

Location

معمل طحين العكلات, Mosul, Aeklam flour mill near Shaam Gate, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.337778, 43.089722 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Local sources said that up 16 persons were killed and ten others injured after Coalition airstrikes targeted the ‘Aeklat’ flour mill at the right side of Mosul.

Iraqi Spring reported that the raids took place close to Sham Gate. Ajel Al Mosul said that the “airstrike that targeted a house in a flour mill at the right side left 14 martyrs and injured civilians with no links to Daesh.

In a later post, Ajel Al Mosul reported that the strikes had targeted “the lab, an administration building and a house in the lab.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Ali Khadr Thanon
47 years old male killed
Aisha Abdel Thanon
43 years old female killed
Hussein Ali Khadr
16 years old male killed
Afrah Ali Khadr
27 years old female killed
Noor Mohammad Hamid
20 years old female killed
Dalal Ayman Ahmed
5 years old male killed
Amina Ayman Ahmed
3 years old female killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    14 – 16
  • (3 children3 women1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    10
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (9) [ collapse]

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:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Non credible / Unsubstantiated
    Insufficient information to assess that, more likely than not, a Coalition strike resulted in civilian casualties.
  • Reason for non-credible assessment
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Mosul, Iraq
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Oct 27, 2017

  • After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For February 13th-14th the Coalition publicly noted: “Near Mosul, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; destroyed four watercraft, three front-end loaders, and a mortar system; damaged nine supply routes; and suppressed eight ISIS mortar teams.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    14 – 16
  • (3 children3 women1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    10
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (9) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS515

Incident date

February 20, 2017

Location

Ar Raqqah, Syria

Airwars assessment

In an incident not previously tracked by Airwars, the Coalition said in June 2017 that an airstrike near Raqqa had not caused civilian harm – despite claims on social media.

According to the report, “14. Feb. 20, 2017, near Raqqah, Syria, via social media report: After a review of available information and strike video it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in this geographic area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.”

The strike was assessed as non credible based on the claim that “no Coalition strikes were conducted on that day in the geographic area of the report of civilian casualties.” However, the Coalition reported multiple strikes in Raqqa that day.

No additional details are presently known.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Discounted
    Those killed were combatants, or other parties most likely responsible.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (1) [ collapse]

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:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Non credible / Unsubstantiated
    Insufficient information to assess that, more likely than not, a Coalition strike resulted in civilian casualties.
  • Reason for non-credible assessment
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Raqqah, Syria
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Apr 30, 2017

  • After a review of available information and strike video it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in this geographic area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For February 20th-21st, the Coalition reported: “Near Ar Raqqah, seven strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed three fighting positions, a VBIED, a garage, an IED and a weapons facility; and damaged a bridge.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Discounted
    Those killed were combatants, or other parties most likely responsible.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS532

Incident date

February 25, 2017

Location

الثورة‎, Tabaqah, Ar Raqqah, Syria

Geolocation

35.8295049, 38.5360909 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One civilian died and five others were injured in an alleged Coalition airstrike in Al Tabaqa, according to local sources.

Micro Syria reported that “Coalition warplanes targeted a car park in Tabaqa and according to a source in the national hospital in Tabaqa, a civilian was killed and five others wounded – some of them critically”.

The Shaam News Network also reported a “likely” Coalition strike on the parking area of the hospital – putting the death toll at one non-combatant, with a further five injured.

According to the Smart news agency, there were “victims in plane raids thought to be by the international Coalition in al Tabaqa in Raqqa” – though they didn’t provide casualty figures.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • Civilians reported injured
    5
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (11) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • Warplanes shelling targeted Euphrate Damn general company yesterday which destroyed it completely (via RBSS)
  • Coalition warplanes shelling in thw water company in Tabaqa, Raqqa, which destroyed it completely.
  • Al-Tabaqa, Raqqa: Coalition Warplanes shelling targeted Euphrate Damn general company in Al-Hay Al-Awal area in Al-Tabaqa city yesterday which destroyed it completely.

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For February 24th-25th: “Near Ar Raqqah, five strikes destroyed an artillery system, a mortar system, a rocket system, a watercraft, a weapons storage facility and a chemical weapons facility.” And for February 25th-26th: “Near Ar Raqqah, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle, a tactical vehicle and a mortar system.”

French Military
  • English
    /
    Original
Official source

[France reports carrying out 34 sorties in the last week – and 11 strikes destroying 19 ISIL targets. In Iraq, the six strikes were concentrated in the Mosul region. They targeted mortar positions, combatant groups, a logistics depot and a command center. In Syria, two ground troop support missions were carried out in the Raqqah and Deir Ezzor areas against artillery pieces and an armored vehicle, loaded with an explosive device (SVBIED). The intervention of a Rafale patrol, after detection and guidance of the ATL2, led to the destruction of 2 clandestine oil wells in the south-east of Raqqah. In the region of Palmyra, two planned strikes were carried out and enabled the neutralization of a military storage site and a vehicle-bomb manufacturing site (VBIED).Task Force Wagram carried out 28 missions]

‘CHAMMAL APPRÉCIATION DE SITUATION Point de situation sur les opérations au 02 mars 2017 En Syrie, à Al Bab, les forces d’opposition soutenues par la Turquie ont pu saisir la ville après le retrait de Daech de la ville. En périphérie, les forces armées syriennes et les FDS tentent d’accentuer ce repli progressif des combattants de Daech vers l’Est. Si ce repli dessine un renforcement probable de Raqqah par les combattants exfiltrés, la menace d’actions asymétriques reste présente. En Irak, Daech poursuit ses actions de harcèlement, notamment dans l’Anbar, par l’intermédiaire d’embuscades, de tirs de mortiers ou d’attaques par drones. Dans la région de Mossoul, l’encerclement progressif de l’agglomération perturbe le ravitaillement de Daech même si l’étendue de la zone ne permet pas de garantir l’étanchéité du dispositif. Dans la partie occidentale de la ville, le recul de Daech se poursuit. Près du Tigre, après la reprise de l’aéroport, les forces de police fédérale et l’ICTS continuent leur progression coordonnée vers le nord. Dans la périphérie ouest de Mossoul, les forces irakiennes avancent vers la prison de Badush et la crête d’Astanah. La résistance se durcit à mesure que le cercle se resserre et que les forces irakiennes s’approchent des zones urbanisées. A l’Est de la ville, Daech maintient ses actions de harcèlement par tirs indirects. ACTIVITÉS DE LA FORCE CHAMMAL Appui aérien au Levant Point de situation sur les opérations au 02 mars 2017 Cette semaine, les aéronefs ont réalisé 34 sorties aériennes dont 32 de reconnaissance armée ou d’appui au sol (CAS), et 2 de recueil de renseignement. 11 frappes ont été réalisées par les avions français, elles ont permis la destruction de 19 objectifs. En Irak, les 6 frappes se sont concentrées dans la région de Mossoul. Elles s’inscrivent dans le cadre de l’appui des troupes irakiennes engagées dans l’offensive visant à reprendre la partie ouest de Mossoul. Elles ont ciblé des positions de mortier, des groupes de combattants, un dépôt logistique ainsi qu’un centre de commandement. En Syrie, 2 missions d’appui des troupes au sol ont été conduites dans la région de Raqqah et de Der Er Zawr contre des pièces d’artillerie, un véhicule suicide, blindé, chargé d’engin explosif (SVBIED). L’intervention d’une patrouille de Rafale, après détection et guidage de l’ATL2, a par ailleurs permis la destruction de 2 puits de pétrole clandestins dans le sud-est de Raqqah. Dans la région de Palmyre, 2 frappes planifiées ont été réalisées et ont permis la neutralisation d’un site de stockage de matériel militaire et d’un site de fabrication de véhicules piégés (VBIED). Appui feu – TF Wagram Cette semaine, le détachement de la Task Force (TF) Wagram déployé au nord de Mossoul a fourni un appui important aux troupes engagées au sol, avec un effort marqué à l’ouest de la ville. Les 28 missions réalisées comprennent 21 de neutralisation, destruction ou harcèlement contre des positions de combattants, des pièces de mortier ou contre des tentatives d’infiltrations en bordure du Tigre. 7 missions d’éclairement ont également été effectuées pour interdire l’utilisation du terrain par Daech. La reprise de l’offensive sur Mossoul-Ouest a marqué un tournant dans la physionomie de l’activité de la TF. Au cours des 3 dernières semaines, l’intensification des missions confiées à la TF et la proportion croissante de missions de neutralisation ou de destruction sont significatives. Cette évolution de l’activité est couplée aux progressions sur le terrain des forces de sécurité irakiennes, elle souligne l’importance et l’efficacité des appuis fournis par la partie française.’

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • Civilians reported injured
    5
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (11) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI524

Incident date

March 9, 2017

Location

Mosul, Amil/ al Mua'lmen, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.321532, 43.097645 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Within 1m (via Coalition) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

In an incident not previously tracked by Airwars, the Coalition later confirmed the injury of one civilian in a strike between Amil and al Mua’lmen neighbourhoods.

Their June 2017 civilian casualty report noted “During a strike to crater roads used by ISIS VBIEDs against Iraqi Security Forces, it was assessed that one civilian was unintentionally injured when he entered the target area after the munition was released.”

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

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (1) [ collapse]

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
    Entered target area just prior to or after munition released
    Airwars’ assessment of belligerent’s civilian casualty statement
  • Initial Airwars grading
    Confirmed
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    1
  • Stated location
    near Mosul, Iraq
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    1 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    38SLF2923421291
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jun 2, 2017

  • March 9, 2017, near Mosul, Iraq, via self-report: During a strike to crater roads used by ISIS VBIEDs against Iraqi Security Forces, it was assessed that one civilian was unintentionally injured when he entered the target area after the munition was released.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For March 8th-9th the Coalition noted: “Mosul, fives strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed six vehicles, five tanker trucks, four mortar systems, 4 VBIEDs, two supply caches, a fighting position, an artillery system, an ISIS-held building, a tactical vehicle, an ISIS headquarters, and a weapons storage facility; damaged 32 supply routes; and suppressed nine mortar teams, a sniper team, a medium machine gun team, and an ISIS tactical unit.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI543

Incident date

March 14, 2017

Location

المحطة, Mosul, Al Mahatta, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.336843, 43.117979 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Local residents told journalists of the French newspaper Mediapart that 26 people were killed after an airstrike reportedly carried out by an “American-built F-16” targeted an ISIL combatant who was sitting on the roof of their house. A young girl was also severely injured.

The report by Mediapart.fr [in translation] reads: “In the neighbourhood of Mahatta, close to the station, 26 civilians paid the price with their lives, killed by an airstrike on Tuesday 14th, around 4pm in the afternoon.

Amad, Mahmoud, Youssef, Marwan, Abdullah Fatah, his wife, his mother are the five direct witnesses interviewed by Mediapart, refugees in some houses south of the city.

It was the men of the 2nd Division of the Special Iraqi Forces who asked for this strike which then killed 26 civilians in a house in Mahatta.

Stunned, Khalef Khudair, 50 years, spreads out the identity cards of the 18 members of his family killed by the attack on the floor of a house where he took refuge. “It was Tuesday 14 March, between 4pm and 4.15pm, he explains. A man from ISIL was posted on our roof. I was in a room with two other people. Two enormous missiles fell on the house. The room next to it, where all the others were, was completely destroyed.” After he blacked out, until people took him out of the rubble.

A neighbour, Ahmed Abu Ahmed, 41, says he saw everything: “The ISIL fighter had installed a heavy PKC machine-gun on one of the roofs. The Special Iraqi Forces first tried to come to him, but he succeeded in repelling them. Then two missiles fell, one right after the other.” As a former policeman, Ahmed Abu Ahmed is convinced that it is an F-16 aircraft – an American-built bomber, which carried out the strike. He rushed to search in the rubble until nightfall.

At first count, there were nineteen bodies. But the next day, neighbors hear a voice that came from under the ruins: “Mamma! Dad !” Ahmed Abu Ahmed searched again and found a little girl, legs broken, wounded in the head, and carried her to an ambulance. The excavations continued and seven more bodies are identified, putting the toll at twenty-six dead. The relatives of the victims claim only one thing: to be allowed to bury the corpses, which they had to leave behind, when the Iraqi forces evacuated them from the area.

In its July 2017 casualty report the Coalition appeared to rule itself out of the incident, noting that “March 14, 2017, near Mosul, Iraq, via social media report: No Coalition strikes were conducted on that day in the geographic area of the reported civilian casualties. The closest strike to the report of possible civilian casualties was approximately a kilometer away.”

Coordinates supplied to Airwars by the Coalition (36.339149, 43.109260) placed the assessment at the al Roubah area of Mosul, around 800m from the station indicating that this was the most likely claim being assessed.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    26
  • (2 children2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (5) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • Khalef Khudair, 50, shows the IDs of relatives killed in an airstrike in Mahatta, on the 14 of March 2017 © Jérémy André
  • The little girl brought to the ambulance on the 15 of March, allegedly taken out of the rubbles of her house, in Mahatta, hit by an airstrike on the 14 of March © Jérémy André
  • Another picture of the little girl © Jérémy André
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:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Non credible / Unsubstantiated
    Insufficient information to assess that, more likely than not, a Coalition strike resulted in civilian casualties.
  • Reason for non-credible assessment
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Mosul, Iraq
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    1 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    38SLF3031523225
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jun 2, 2017

  • No Coalition strikes were conducted on that day in the geographic area of the reported civilian casualties. The closest strike to the report of possible civilian casualties was approximately a kilometer away.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For March 13th-14th: “Near Mosul, five strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed 27 fighting positions, three rocket-propelled grenade systems, two VBIEDs, an artillery system, a mortar system, a heavy machine gun, a road block, a vehicle and a VBIED factory; damaged 12 supply routes; and suppressed five ISIS mortar teams and two ISIS tactical units.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    26
  • (2 children2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (5) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS591

Incident date

March 19, 2017

Location

حمرة بلاسم, Hamra Blassem, Ar Raqqah, Syria

Geolocation

35.878056, 39.197222 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

At least one named civilian was reportedly killed in a Coalition airstrike which hit a bakery in the town of Hamra Blassem village.

According to multiple sources, Mazid Adham Al-Mazid died in the raid and at least two other civilians were injured. One source claimed that ten people died in the attack – though this may have confused the event with one at nearby al Tabaqa that day. Shaam News and others said the strikes had targeted areas around a refinery and a bakery. All sources blamed the US-led Coalition.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Mazid Adham Al-Mazid
Age unknown killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 10
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (12) [ collapse]

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:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Non credible / Unsubstantiated
    Insufficient information to assess that, more likely than not, a Coalition strike resulted in civilian casualties.
  • Reason for non-credible assessment
    Insufficient evidence of civilian harm
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Hamra Balasim, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SEV178708
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jul 26, 2018

  • After a review of available information and strike video it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find civilians were harmed in this strike.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For March 19th-20th it stated: “Near Ar Raqqah, 18 strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units; destroyed 10 fighting positions, six barges, three ISIS headquarters, a tactical vehicle, an IED factory, and a weapons factory; and damaged a supply route.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 10
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (12) [ collapse]