Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS1356

Incident date

August 8, 2017

Location

ميادين, Al Mayadin, Deir ez-Zor, Syria

Geolocation

35.016667, 40.444167 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Two children were killed and up to 40 other civilians injured (mostly women and children) in airstrikes on the city of al Mayadeen, Deir Ezzor, local media reported. The offensive struck the Fatima Al-Zahraa Women’s Hospital. It is not wholly clear at present who was responsible.

Jisirtv news cited an A’amaq’s agency report which blamed Moscow, and refered to the use of cluster bombs in the alleged strikes. In the same report they described the location of the alleged strikes to have been the ‘vicinity of the National Hospital and the Center for the revival of the countryside’. Activists in a Syriahr news also alleged that ‘warplanes, likely to be Russian’ were responsible for the incident.

A Tweet by @HadiAlabdallah held the US led Coalition responsible for the attacks, however at present all other sources point toward Russia, and ‘warplanes’ or ‘cluster bombs’ to have been involved.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian infrastructure
    Healthcare facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (2 children)
  • Civilians reported injured
    25–40
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    US-led Coalition, Russian Military

Sources (13) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • Children wounded in the air strike (via Euphrates Post)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Children wounded in the air strike (via Euphrates Post)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Children wounded in the air strike (via Euphrates Post)

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Al Mayadin (ميادين), for which the coordinates are: 35.016667, 40.444167. Reports mention that the airstrike targeted the main street, the “Rural Recovery Center” (مركز إنعاش الريف) and the women’s hospital of Fatima Al-Zahra (مشفى فاطمة الزهراء). Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the coordinates of these locations.        

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For August 7-8th the Coalition reported: “Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes destroyed seven ISIS well-heads and a weapons cache.”

French Military
  • English
    /
    Original

For August 3rd-9th, France report 1 strike in Iraq and 1 in Syria, along with 9 artillery strikes in Mosul.

French Military
  • English
    /
    Original

France reports that in the past week (4th -11th) it carried out 31 sorties, including 24 Army reconnaissance and Ground Support (CAS), as well as 4 intelligence reports by Atlantic 2 or Rafale patrol. Two strikes were carried out in the Hassaka region of Syria and the Al Qaim region of Iraq. They destroyed ISIL storage sites and weapons caches.

Point de situation des opérations ARMÉE FRANÇAISE – OPÉRATIONS MILITAIRES·FRIDAY, 11 AUGUST 2017 OPÉRATION CHAMMAL SITUATION En Syrie, A Raqqah, la progression des forces démocratiques syriennes se poursuit. Au sud de la ville, la manœuvre de tenaille amorcée, qui permettra de joindre les fronts est et ouest, demeure freinée par la résistance de Daech. Les combattants du groupe terroriste utilisent les réseaux de tunnels et les véhicules suicide chargés d’explosifs pour conduire des actions de harcèlement, et piègent systématiquement le terrain cédé. En Irak, Les forces de sécurité irakiennes poursuivent le nettoyage et la dépollution de la ville de Mossoul. Dans le reste du territoire, alors que Daech tente de poursuivre ses actions de harcèlement, les opérations de sécurisation mobilisent largement les forces irakiennes. Dans la vallée de l’Anbar et dans la région d’Hawijah, les opérations ont permis de déceler et de détruire des caches de munitions et de nombreux engins explosifs improvisés. ACTIVITÉS DE LA FORCE Le 3 août s’est achevée une séquence de relève des avions de Chammal. Celle-ci a signé la fin du premier déploiement du plot mixte Rafale marine et air. Ce sont désormais 6 avions Rafale de l’armée de l’air qui constituent le volet chasse présent en Jordanie. Cette semaine, sur le théâtre, les aéronefs ont réalisé 31 sorties aériennes dont 24 de reconnaissance armée et d’appui au sol (CAS), ainsi que 4 sorties de recueil de renseignement par Atlantique 2 ou patrouille de Rafale. Deux frappes ont été conduites dans la région de Hassaka en Syrie et dans la région d’Al Qaim. Elles ont permis de détruire des sites de stockage et des caches d’armes. La Task Force (TF) Wagram a mené de son côté 6 missions de tir de harcèlement en appui de la 15e division à l’ouest de Mossoul vers Tal Afar, pour prévenir les infiltrations ennemies sur les positions irakiennes. Le bilan global de l’activité aérienne depuis le 19 septembre 2014 s’élève à 1 322 frappes, 2095 objectifs détruits et 6919 sorties.

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian infrastructure
    Healthcare facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (2 children)
  • Civilians reported injured
    25–40
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    US-led Coalition, Russian Military

Sources (13) [ collapse]