Geolocation
Airwars assessment
The US (possibly with Jordan and/or the UAE) bombed grain silos near Manjib. While CENTCOM insisted that the grain facilities were occupied by Islamic State forces, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that only civilians – workers at the silos – had been killed, although militants were also wounded.
According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights [which did not record any civilian deaths] the silos and associated facilities were still producing vital food for nearby residents: “If these mills were damaged, it would mean that 650,000 people will be unable to get bread.”
In an apparent reference to the Manbij incident, a declassified CENTCOM file published in September 2015 noted that “An initial review of a strike during the initial deliberate strikes in Syria prior to 29 September on the area IVO grain silos in Idlib had been conducted, determined not to have been ClVCAS.” The review then concluded that “No further inquiry [was] required.”
In July 2017 the Coalition said it had classed the event as non-credible based on a lack of available information: “Sep. 28, 2014, near Manbij, Syria, via Airwars report: 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.”
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the town of Manbij (منبج), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.5269242, 37.9559288. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (6) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]
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Image of the alleged strike (via SN4HR)
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. From May 2015 CENTCOM document: A review of BDA imagery did not credibly determine that civilians were present at the site. Open source images presented as casualties from the strikes actually came from previous GoS strikes.; caused the collapse of a resideNe nearby, killing 13
Original strike reports
The coalition has confirmed responsibility for the event: “Two airstrikes struck an ISIL training camp and ISIL vehicles within a vehicle staging area adjacent to an ISIL-held grain storage facility near Manbij. The storage facility was being used by ISIL as a logistics hub and vehicle staging facility,” an official report noted.