Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Residents and local press said that up to 100 civilians were killed and dozens wounded after Coalition airstrikes and guided missiles allegedly hit multiple locations in and around Anah town, in Anbar province, on a Saturday evening.
Noor Al Mustafa Dawood reported that “the bombing continued with more than four airstrikes and four missiles directed so far” and listed the locations of the shelling as follows:
– Airstrikes on the cemetery, while a funeral of an ISIL was going on
– Bombing on the Internet Hall in Al Hadra Street
– The bombing of the house of Ibn Faiq Rashad II, “which was considered a house of money”
– On Abu Fahad House, the head of the “movement of the solution”. As well as full destruction and reports of minor civilian casualties
– Bombing on the building of Haj Badia Khairi Ghi in Al-Hadra Street – news about the the death of the resident and the serious injuries of [other] people
– Targeting Pick up wheel in Al Hadra Street for people. Unidentified civilians were killed.
– Bombing near the stadium without knowing the details.
Yaqein Agency said that the Coalition had also “deliberately targeted” a hospital and a market.
On Monday 15th May Yaqein reported that the death toll had risen to more than hundred civilians. The press source had told the media agency that “the international Coalition forces launched violent raids on the district [in the] west of Anbar province” and that “the shelling killed more than 100 civilians and wounded dozens.” It furthermore said that residents were confused whether they should stay in the house – at the risk of seeing walls fall on them – or go out and be exposed to the risks there. The source said that “the bombing of the International Alliance is the most violent of its kind as the Coalition aircraft directed 4 airstrikes and used guided missiles in the bombing.”
Local residents named various people who were killed as a result of the shelling.
In its July 2017 civilian casualty report, the Coalition denied involvement in the incident: “May 13, 2017, near Anah, Iraq, via NGO report: After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographic area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.”
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (2)
The victims were named as:
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the town of Anah (عنه), for which the generic coordinates are: 34.372699, 41.986442. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (8) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]
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Jassim Mohammed Saleh Al-Hamra (via Rawa, Facebook)
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Obeida Wael Hussein Jamil Al Ani (via Rawa)
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.
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
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After a review of available information and strike video it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find that civilians were harmed in this strike.
Original strike reports
For May 12th-13th, the Coalition did not report any strikes near Anah.