Airwars assessment
A 65-year old man was killed in an alleged Coalition strike according to two separate investigations by international news organisations.
According to his son Ahmed, Mr Hassan was walking to work in his village when shrapnel from a Coalition strike punctured his heart and leg and killed him: “He didn’t support any group,” Hassan told the Buzzfeed news site by phone from southern Turkey. “He just wanted to work and take care of his family.”
A separate investigation by the Global Post gives a detailed description of the reported lethal strike: “The first bomb fell on that road [to Hassakah] between 10 and 11 in the morning on May 6. Then a plane started circling over the village. People were afraid to stay in their homes. They ran into the open. Al Hassan’s father, Ismail, tried to run as well. But he was too late. The villagers remember seeing the plane point its nose down and dive, dropping a bomb. It then climbed away. Al Hassan’s father lay on the ground in a crumpled heap, dead, in front of the ruins of his house.”
US officials initially denied that a strike had taken place in the vicinity. Responding to a query from Airwars, Centcom informed us on October 27th 2015 for example that “The Coalition did not conduct strikes in the vicinity of al Ghara village on May 6.”
However, pressed by Global Post investigators CENTCOM reported in January 2016 that it would reinvestigate the incident.
The incident occured between 10:00 am and 11:00 am local time.
- Ismail Ali Hassan 65 years old male killed
Summary
Sources (2) [ collapse]
Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention the village of Al-Gharah (الغرة), Al-Hasakah Governorate, for which the coordinates of its midpoint are: 36.4506988, 40.2984953
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
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After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.
Original strike reports
No strikes were reportedly carried out by the Coalition in Syria on May 5th-6th. However, for May 6th-7th 2015 it was reported that “Near Al Hasakah, four airstrikes struck one large and two small ISIL tactical units, destroying 12 ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL trench system and an ISIL vehicle.”