Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS121

Incident date

September 5, 2015

Location

تل براك, Tall Birak, or villages to the south, Al Hassakah, Syria

Geolocation

36.683359, 41.053686 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Reports emerged on the evening of September 5th that a 13-year old boy named as Abboud Al Kharnoub may have died in a Coalition strike in the vicinity of Tal Brak near al Hassakah.

Baladi News also reported that a number of women were injured, without giving further details. It also said that the casualties occurred “in villages south of Tal Brak.”

The town itself was the scene of clashes at the time between Daesh and Kurdish YPG forces which led to Coalition strikes, according to Ara News.

In its monthly civilian casualty report for October 2019 – published on December 5th of the same year – the US-led Coalition assessed this event as ‘non credible’, noting: “September 5, 2015, in Tall Birak, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties. 2826/CS121 37SFA835617”.

The Coalition published a location for the assessment identifying to within 100 metres the area where it had focused its review.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

13 years old male killed

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Tall Birak, or villages to the south (تل براك), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.683359, 41.053686. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 child)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • Suspected target
    ISIS

Sources (10) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Baladi news network tweets that alleged coalition strikes on villages south of Tal Birak killed a child and injured women. 5th September 2015

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
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    in Tall Birak, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SFA835617
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Dec 5, 2019
  • September 5, 2015, in Tall Birak, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties. 2826/CS121 37SFA835617

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

No Coalition strikes were publicly reported in al Hassakah governorate between September 4th-6th 2015.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 child)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • Suspected target
    ISIS

Sources (10) [ collapse]