Incident Code

CI166

Location

الرمادي, Ramadi, Al Anbar, Iraq

Geolocation

33.437441, 43.286666
Accuracy: City

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: I140)

Military aircraft – which some sources described as the Coalition’s – reportedly killed five civilians in a Christmas Day strike.

According to Al Rafidain the attack could have been the work either of the Iraq Army or the Coalition, noting that “army aviation commander Hamid al-Maliki also confirmed that army helicopters carried out a raid on 50 locations within the city of Ramadi on the day.”

In its July 2017 report the Coalition said it had classed the event as non credible on grounds of limited information: “Dec. 25, 2015, near Ramadi, Iraq, via Airwars report: The report contained insufficient information of the time, location and details to assess its credibility.”

 

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
5
Civilians reported injured
20

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Ramadi (الرمادي), for which the generic coordinates are: 33.437441, 43.286666. 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
Insufficient information on the time and location
Civilian deaths conceded
None
Civilian injuries conceded
None
Stated location
near Ramadi, Iraq
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
The Coalition reports heavy strikes on the city for December 25th-26th 2015: “Near Ramadi, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL tactical vehicles, six ISIL fighting positions, four ISIL vehicles, two ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) factories, two ISIL heavy machine gun positions, an ISIL sniper position, two ISIL house borne improvised explosive devices (HBIED), and wounded two ISIL fighters.”
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2017-07-07
Original Source
The report contained insufficient information of the time, location and details to assess its credibility.
Iraq Government Forces Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Iraq Government Forces
Iraq Government Forces position on incident
Not yet assessed