Incident Code

CI099

Location

مكحول, Makhul, Salah Al Din, Iraq

Geolocation

35.20437, 43.27905
Accuracy: Village
Sections

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: I076)

Reports alleged that a Coalition strike killed 11 civilians “including elderly people,” and injured 18 more. According to an activist Facebook page, “Coalition planes bombed the market in the village of Makhul, which was full of displaced people.”

Another site attributed alleged civilian fatality estimates to the police, though said the airstrike responsible was by “unidentified aircraft.”

In their May 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.

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Contested
Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
Civilians reported killed
11
Civilians reported injured
18

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Makhul (مكحول), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.20437, 43.27905. 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
No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
Civilian deaths conceded
None
Civilian injuries conceded
None
MGRS coordinate
38SLD433970
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
Original Source ↗
While there was no strike described for Makhul, the Coalition did report that for August 31st-September 1st 2015: “Near Bayji, two airstrikes struck an ISIL large tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL vehicles and an ISIL weapons cache.”
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2020-05-01
Original Source ↗
Sept. 1, 2015, in Makhul, Iraq 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. 2814/CI099 38SLD433970

Sources (2)

Ansar GMC Iraq ↗

Facebook Arabic

Addustour ↗

Arabic