Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CI679

Incident date

May 1, 2017

Location

الموصل: غرب, Mosul, West, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.336843, 43.117979 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

According to local sources – which referred to a statement by Al Amaq (ISIL press agency) and residents of West Mosul – up to 79 civilians were killed and 159 wounded, mostly women and children, after airstrikes of the Coalition and Iraqi forces hit many neighbourhoods in West Mosul over a four day period.

M.N.N. (Mosul News) reported on Facebook that Mohammed Abdullah Ramadan was a victim “of Coalition and Iraqi forces shelling” (photo below). And the facebook page Victims of the International Coalition in Mosul published three photographs which it said featured victims Shehab al-Hassu, his son Hudayfah, and a cousin Riad Hazem.

Al-Araby News reported that the “Iraqi Air Force on Monday renewed the shelling for the liberation of neighborhoods in West Mosul, while members of the provincial council confirmed the presence of more than 200,000 civilians in areas controlled by the Islamic State.

A local source in Mosul told Al-Araby that the Iraqi air force bombed the neighborhoods of Rifai and Zanjili and July 17, and pointed out that the shelling was indiscriminate and did not focus on the ISIL headquarters. He also pointed to the number of victims whose number was not known, as a result of the fall of a number of rockets on some inhabited houses, adding that the rest of the old neighborhoods of Mosul under the control of “Daash”, were full of civilians, who fled to these areas to escape previous battles.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (3)

Shehab al-Hassu
Adult male Father killed
Hudayfah
Adult male Son killed
Riad Hazem
Adult male Cousin killed

The victims were named as:

Mohammed Abdullah Ramadan
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    79
  • (4 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    159
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    US-led Coalition, Iraq Government Forces

Sources (13) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    GRAPHIC: The body of Mohammed Abdullah Ramadan after airstrikes hit New Mosul neighbourhoods (via MNN)
  • Images of Shehab al-Hassu, his son Hudayfah, and a cousin Riad Hazem, all allegedly killed in the strikes
CJTF–OIR Declassified Assessment and Press Release

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.

Declassified Assessment Press Release

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
    Insufficient information on the time and location
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Mosul, Iraq
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jan 25, 2018
  • The report contains insufficient information of the time, location and details to assess its credibility.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For May 1st-2nd 2017 the Coalition reported: “Near Mosul; two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two mortar systems, a front-end loader, an artillery system, a fighting position, a VBIED factory, and a medium machine gun.” It additionally stated that “Near Mosul, May 1st, three strikes destroyed three VBIEDs and three ISIS fuel tankers, and suppressed three mortar teams.”

Iraq Government Forces Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Iraq Government Forces
  • Iraq Government Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    79
  • (4 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    159
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    US-led Coalition, Iraq Government Forces

Sources (13) [ collapse]