Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CI626

Incident date

April 10, 2017

Location

اليرموك, Mosul, Yarmouk, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.336804, 43.083396 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Local sources reported a major incident in Yarmouk neighbourhood, West Mosul, where airstrikes allegedly killed more than thirty civilians.

The local Facebook group Sawlf Ateka named the victims as: “Imad Abdul Ghani Al-Rashdi and his mother, his wife, four daughters, the daughter of his brother Iyad and five other families after they fled to their neighbor’s home.” According to the report, an ISIL member had been on the roof of their house, so they fled to the neighbour’s house. The ISIL combatant escaped, but the house where the families were hiding was then hit by airstrikes. According to Sawif Ateka “They are now under the rubble. We appeal to the counter-terrorist units to evacuate the bodies. The site of the incident is opposite the Yarmouk Bridge and the Maysaloun Preparatory School for Girls.”

MNN reported that A-10 aircraft carried out the bombings in Yarmouk. This type of aircraft is used only by the US in Iraq, so could point at Coalition involvement. However, none of the other sources indicated who was responsible.

Yarmouk Coordination spoke of a total of 73 dead, mostly children and more than 200 wounded in “American-Iraqi” bombings in Mosul over a period of three days.

Nineveh Media Centre later named Mohamed Abdel Wahab Ibrahim El Sayegh (see photo below) as also having died in the attack. Yarmouk neighbourhood was reportedly liberated by Iraqi forces that day.

In a later report. the Iraqi Observatory gave more details: “The monitoring network documented at the Iraqi Observatory on April 10 the killing of five families in the Yarmouk district of the right-hand side of the city of Mosul, after their house was targeted by air strikes. A displaced man from the city of Mosul reported that a bomb exploded near the Yarmouk Bridge, killing one of his cousins, his mother, his wife, four daughters, his nephew and five other families who were gathered in one house. He added that the house was bombed an hour after the escape of one of the elements of the organization that was on the roof of the house, likely to kill thirty civilians whose bodies are still under the rubble.”

In their monthly civilian casualty reports, the US-led Coalition has indicated that the credibility of this civilian harm allegation is in the process of being assessed.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Imad Abdul Ghani Al-Rashdi
Adult male killed
Mohamed Abdel Wahab Ibrahim El Sayegh
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    28 – 30
  • (7 women2 men)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition

Sources (10) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • Mohamed Abdel Wahab Ibrahim El Sayegh was reportedly killed after a mortar hit his house in Yarmouk neighborhood (via Ninawa Media Center)
  • Imad Abdul Ghani Al-Rashdi

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Open incident
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For April 9th-10th the Coalition publicly stated: “Near Mosul, five strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units; destroyed five fighting positions, five mortar systems, three medium machine guns, and a vehicle; damaged 22 supply routes; and suppressed four mortar teams.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    28 – 30
  • (7 women2 men)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition

Sources (10) [ collapse]