Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CI220

Incident date

April 7, 2016

Location

الموصل‎, Mosul, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.34585235, 43.09857692 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

According to the Iraq Oil Report, a fresh attack by Coalition aircraft on the Al Waldy clothing plant in the Al Shifa neighbourhood of eastern Mosul killed 15 civilian workers.

According to the site – which uses a network of informants in the city, “On April 7 [ ] air strikes destroyed a small garment factory in the Shifa neighbourhood of Mosul city. (It was the second strike on a garment shop in the area in two days, as another one was hit on the morning of April 6.) Residents familiar with the factory say IS obtained clothing and banners from there, but that the building had never hosted IS militants or been run by them and did not have any military function.

The majority of the occupants were civilian women who worked in the factory, and families from Baiji who had resettled in the building and grounds. Multiple witnesses said 15 people had been killed, with almost all being women and children. In addition, around 20 more civilians were injured to varying degrees, again mostly women and children. The building was destroyed.

No IS militants were killed or wounded, the witnesses said, and none were near the site when it was struck.”

In the first of their March 2020 civilian casualty reports, 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.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Mosul (الموصل‎), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.34585235, 43.09857692. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    15
  • (8–10 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    20
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition

Sources (1) [ collapse]

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Non credible / Unsubstantiated
    Insufficient information to assess that, more likely than not, a Coalition strike resulted in civilian casualties.
  • Reason for non-credible assessment
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • MGRS coordinate
    38SLF311247
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Mar 25, 2020
  • April 7, 2016, in Mosul, 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. 2936/CI220 38SLF311247

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For April 6th-7th the Coalition reported: “Near Mosul, five strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL tunnel system, an ISIL assembly area, an ISIL fighting position, and an ISIL vehicle.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    15
  • (8–10 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    20
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition

Sources (1) [ collapse]