Incident Code

CI044

Location

الرطبة, Ar Rutbah, Al Anbar, Iraq

Geolocation

33.037183, 40.285862
Accuracy: Town

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: I028)

According to Reuters, a Coalition airstrike caused significant casualties in Ar Rutbah: “Coalition planes bombed al-Rutba district, 385 km west of Baghdad, killing six Islamic State militants and 11 civilians, according to a source in the local hospital.”

ARA News placed the civilian death toll from coalition strikes at Rutba at 10.

In July 2017, the Coalition announced that it had classed the event as Non Credible on grounds of lack of available evidence of civilian harm: “Feb. 25, 2015, near Ar Rutbah, Iraq, via Airwars report: After a review of available information it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find that civilians were harmed in this strike.”

However based on reports at the time of the event, Airwars continues to class this event as Fair.

 

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Civilians reported killed
10–11

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Ar Rutbah (الرطبة), for which the generic coordinates are: 33.037183, 40.285862. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Military Statements

U.S.-led Coalition Assessment
Suspected belligerent
U.S.-led Coalition
U.S.-led Coalition position on incident
Non credible / Unsubstantiated
Reason for non-credible assessment
a:1:{i:0;s:21:"insufficient_evidence";}
Civilian deaths conceded
None
Civilian injuries conceded
None
Stated location
near Ar Rutbah, Iraq
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
The coalition reports a strike in the vicinity for February 25th-26th 2015: “Near Ar Rutbah, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit.”
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2017-07-07
Original Source
After a review of available information it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find that civilians were harmed in this strike.