Incident Code

CS065

Location

بئر محلي, Jubb Mahli (Ber Mahli), Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.561113, 38.41203
Accuracy: Village

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: S64)

In one of the worst reported incidents in nine months of bombings by the US-led Coalition, 64 civilians were said to have died in an attack on the village of Ber Mahli near Sareen – the majority of them women (19) and children (32). It remains disputed as to whether the village was partly or wholly under the control of Islamic State forces at the time.

Later admitting that it had carried out a strike on the village, the Coalition said it had instead bombed “several ISIL fighting positions [and] striking more than 50 ISIL fighters.” A CJTF-OIR spokesman appeared to blame any error on Kurdish forces in the area, telling Airwars by email that: “Prior to the airstrikes, Kurdish forces, who held the town before leaving after being attacked by ISIL, reported there were no civilians present in that location and that there had not been any civilians present for two weeks prior to the Coalition airstrikes.”

An internal CENTCOM investigation almost immediately decided “allegation initially not determined credible”, it was revealed in September 2015. The declassified document also appeared to pin responsibility for any error on the YPG, noting that the Kurdish fighters “had held the village up until the ISIL attack and [reported] that there were no civilians in the village.”

According to Al Jazeera, eyewitnesses said that when the village was first bombed, residents ran out of their houses. However Ber Mahli was then repeatedly struck, including a group of cars leaving the village. SN4HR also claimed that “some of the houses were targeted again after people and medical teams gathered to help the victims and wounded.”

Speaking from his hospital bed, one injured survivor spoke of the attack: “We were four families gathered in one room. It was around 11 or 12 at night. They kept on striking the houses. The first time they struck, my cousin was killed with his small children. Why did this happen? Is it because Obama wants to please the King of Saudi Arabia? Why is the coalition bombing us? Why don’t they fight [President] Bashar?

Another unnamed and injured survivor, a young girl, also spoke for the cameras:”The planes came above us and bombed us and destroyed houses. My father was killed and two of my sisters.”

Buzzfeed also interviewed a 67-year-old witness to the attack, who went by the name of Abu Khaled, who corroborated the names of many of those killed. “They killed whole families. The Americans will never apologize, and they will keep killing civilians,” hecomplained to the news site from southern Turkey.

All 64 known fatalities have now been named by SN4HR and by Manbij News, indicating that entire families were wiped out.

Fadel Abdulghani, head of monitoring group the Syrian Network for Human Rights, demanded that those in the coalition responsible for the deaths be held accountable: “Despite all the efforts made to avoid this, this incident indicates a blatant disrespect for the lives of innocent civilians. The people responsible for this crime should be held accountable which would be a clear message to their associates and commanders.”

In an assessment of the event published in October 2016, it was noted that “a review by Amnesty International of a series of aerial images of the Bir Mahli area, including a satellite image taken approximately one week after the attack, indicates four strike locations and nine to 10 houses being completely flattened…. Amnesty International is concerned that Coalition forces appear to have either mistakenly carried out a large-scale attack on an entirely civilian area having failed to take adequate steps to positively identify a military objective prior to attacking or to have carried out a grossly disproportionate attack against suspected IS targets. In addition, CENTCOM appears to have dismissed evidence indicating scores of civilian casualties.

Victims

Family members (64)

Adult male killed
Aida Al Hussein al Salibi
Adult female Ali al Salibi's wife killed
25 years old male Aida's son killed
24 years old male Aida's son killed
23 years old male Aida's son killed
1 years old male son of Shuaa Mustafa al-Shawakh killed
17 years old male Aida's son killed
17 years old male Aida's son killed
6 years old male Aida's son killed
14 years old female Aida's daughter killed
10 years old female Aida's daughter killed
Adult female Khaled al Shawak's wife killed
Adult female Eid Ali Al Shawak's wife killed
1 years old female Ameriah's daughter killed
56 years old male killed
Fatima Al Kahhal
Adult female Jumah's wife killed
24 years old male Fatima's son killed
17 years old male Fatima's son killed
23 years old female Fatima's daughter killed
30 years old female wife of Mustafa Jumah al-Shawakh Al-Sleibi killed
24 years old female Wife of Shawakh Jumah al-Shawakh Al-Sleibi killed
28 years old female Wife of Wasel Jumah al-Shawakh Al-Sleibi killed
1 years old male Khaznah's Ahmad al Obeid's son killed
3 years old female the daughter of Shuaa Mustafa al-Shawakh
2 years old male the son of Shuaa Mustafa al-Shawakh killed
1 years old male the son of Shuaa Mustafa al-Shawakh killed
Adult female wife of Ali Mohammad al-Ali killed
Hadlah
Adult female the second wife of Ali Mohammad al-Ali, from Alja'adah village killed
31 years old male son of Hadla al-Msallam killed
18 years old female the daughter of Hadla al-Msallam killed
1 years old male the son of Hadla, the second wife killed
6 years old female the daughter of Mustafa Ali Al-Mohammad Ali killed
5 years old male the son of Mustafa Ali Al-Mohammad Ali killed
3 years old male the son of Mustafa Ali Al-Mohammad Ali killed
1 month old years old female Ali Mohammed Ali killed
47 years old male killed
Adult female Eid's wife killed
10 years old female Eid and Ghazalah's daughter killed
6 years old female Eid and Ghazalah's daughter killed
2 years old female Eid and Ghazalah's daughter killed
7 months years old female Eid and Ghazalah's daughter killed
Turki Eid Al Mustafa Al Shawakh
12 years old male Eid and Ghazalah's daughter killed
45 years old female Wife of Jalal Mustafa al-Sleibi killed
42 years old female the second wife of Jalal Mustafa al-Sleibi killed
14 years old male Turkeih's son killed
11 years old female Turkeih's daughter killed
10 years old male Zleikhah's son killed
Warde
32 years old female Hussein Al Ali Al Salibi's wife killed
11 years old female killed
10 years old male killed
4 years old male killed
65 years old male killed
Shaha Al Salibi
Adult female Mustafa's wife killed
25 years old female Shahah's daughter killed
18 years old female Shahah's daughter killed
40 years old male killed
22 years old male killed
40 years old male killed
38 years old female Wife of Aref al-Mustafa al-Sleibi killed
8 years old female Khatoun's daughter killed
5 years old female Khatoun's daughter killed
40 years old male killed
Ida Al Mahmoud Al Hussein Al Salibi
15 years old female killed
3 years old female killed

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Civilians reported killed
64
32 Children, 19 Women, 13 Men

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Jubb Mahli (Ber Mahli) (بئر محلي), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.561113, 38.41203. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Military Statements

U.S.-led Coalition Assessment
Suspected belligerent
U.S.-led Coalition
U.S.-led Coalition position on incident
Non credible / Unsubstantiated
Civilian deaths conceded
None
Civilian injuries conceded
None
Stated location
Ber Mahli, Syria
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2015-05-01
Original Source
Prior to the airstrikes, Kurdish forces, who held the town before leaving after being attacked by ISIL, reported there were no civilians present in that location and that there had not been any civilians present for two weeks prior to the Coalition airstrikes

Media From Sources (22)