Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CI234

Incident date

April 29, 2016

Location

الموصل‎, Mosul, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.39711, 43.14113 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Within 100m (via Coalition) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

The attempted US targeted killing of the Australian Neil Prakash, ‘an ISIL external operations facilitator’ instead “struck three civilians on the road and one civilian located on an adjacent compound,” CENTCOM admitted three months later.

Among the four civilians who were killed in the airstrike that day, one man was named by local sources, Ziad Khalaf Awad, who was a university teacher.

Although Neil Prakash was widely reported killed in the attack at the time, the New York Times confirmed in November 2016 that he was still alive: “An Australian, Neil Prakash, was targeted in a strike around the same time. A senior American official said that Mr Prakash was wounded but survived. In the last few weeks, however, a Middle Eastern government arrested Mr Prakash, another senior American military official said.” ABC News Australia reported that Prakash “was arrested by Turkish officials when he tried to cross the Syrian border into Turkey using false documents and a fake name.”

According to the New York Times, “among the injured was Hassan Aleiwi Muhammad Sultan, now 16, who was playing soccer nearby and still has shrapnel in his spinal cord. His family can barely afford his wheelchair.”

In July 2019, the Coalition provided Airwars with the location of this incident, accurate to within a 100 metre box.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Adult male (via @2011iqbgd2017 tweet) killed
Hassan Aleiwi Muhammad Sultan
11 years old male injured

Geolocation notes

Prior to the Coalition releasing the MGRS for this incident, Airwars had geolocated it to the nearest city at 36.34585235, 43.09857692

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • Known target
    ISIS

Sources (11) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • Dr Ziad Khalaf, reported killed in an alleged Coalition strike on Mosul April 30th 2016 (via Mosul News Agency)
  • A tweet contains an image of "Dr Ziad Khalaf is a professor in the Mosul university who was killed by an alleged Coalition strike on the left neighbourhood side of the city of Mosul on April 30th 2016" (via @2011iqbgd2017 tweet)

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Known belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Credible / Substantiated
    The investigation assessed that although all feasible precautions were taken and the decision to strike complied with the law of armed conflict, unintended civilian casualties regrettably occurred.
  • Given reason for civilian harm
    Killed by strike blast, Killed in adjacent structure
    Airwars’ assessment of belligerent’s civilian casualty statement
  • Initial Airwars grading
    Confirmed
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    4
  • Stated location
    near Mosul, Iraq
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    38SLF333296
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jul 28, 2016
  • On April 29, 2016, in Mosul, Iraq, during a strike targeting Neil Prakash, an ISIL external operations facilitator, it is assessed that four civilians were killed when the weapon struck three civilians on the road and one civilian located on an adjacent compound.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

The Coalition reports for April 29th-30th 2016 that “Near Mosul, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL assembly areas, two ISIL bed down locations, two ISIL fighting positions, and an ISIL weapons cache.”

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • Known target
    ISIS

Sources (11) [ collapse]