US-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria

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

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

Incident Code

CS1936

Incident date

November 8, 2019

Location

خبيرة, Khubeirah, Deir Ezzor, Syria

Geolocation

35.50109, 40.652545 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Subdistrict level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Three tents were reportedly bombed in alleged Coalition airstrikes in Khabira area in the northeastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It is unclear how many people died in this event.

The Observatory reported that “the tents were set up about a week ago by people who claimed to be hunters, and the targeting killed all those who were in the tents”.

Kurdistan Peace Movement in Syria reported: “The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the planes of the international coalition after midnight Friday-Saturday targeted three tents in the area of Khabra in Badia Deir Ezzor northeast. The observatory said that the tents were erected about a week ago by people who claimed to be fishermen.”

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

The incident was first reported on November 8, 2019 at 6:55 pm by Step News Agency.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention a strike within the desert of Khubeirah (خبيرة), northeast from the city of Deir Ezzor (دير الزور). Some sources mention Khubeirah to be located east of Al Suwar subdistrict (ناحية الصور), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.50109, 40.652545. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Non credible / Unsubstantiated
    Insufficient information to assess that, more likely than not, a Coalition strike resulted in civilian casualties.
  • Reason for non-credible assessment
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SFV498298
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Aug 22, 2020
  • Nov. 8, 2019, near Khabira, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties. 3133/CS1936 37SFV498298

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition