(Previous Incident Code: I040)

Five Kurdish non-combatants, all from the same family, died in a reported Coalition strike on the village of Fadhiliyah, near Mosul. A major field investigation by the Guardian later identified the dead.

Three family members survived the attack though were injured. Rahim, an eyewitness and relative, told the Guardian: “We wrapped the dead in blankets and buried them the same day.”

CENTCOM later confirmed that the coalition had struck targets at Fadhiliya on April 4, with a spokesman adding that it was “looking into this further”. Local MP Mala Salim Juma Mohammad said he had been able to confirm that the family had no connection to militants, adding of the strike that “It was a mistake. The coalition needs to compensate the family adequately.”

A declassified CENTCOM report published by Airwars in August 2015 revealed that a US A-10 Warthog had struck the village, in response to a ‘troops in contact’ request by a unit labelled the Irbil Strike Cell. As the report notes, “Strike imagery shows a structure in the strike radius” and a formal investigation was launched into the attack. The results are not presently known.