Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Eleven civilians were reportedly killed at Um Al Theban while crossing between Syria and Iraq, in what was claimed to be a Coalition airstrike. The incident is presently poorly reported.
In its July 2017 report, the Coalition classed the event as non credible on grounds of having conducted no strikes in the vicinity: “Nov. 2, 2015, near Sinjar, Iraq, via Airwars report: After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographic area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties. “
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the town of Sinjar, Um Al Theban (سنجار), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.3206914, 41.8641115. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (2) [ collapse]
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.
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
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After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographic area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.
Original strike reports
The Coalition has confirmed heavy airstrikes in the Sinjar area at ths time. For November 1st-2nd 2015 it was reported that “Near Sinjar, five strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL vehicles, an ISIL mortar system, an ISIL weapons cache, and two ISIL fighting positions.”