Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Multiple sources reported the death of eleven civilians and seven or more wounded in an alleged Coalition airstrike on Al Bahra village, northwest of the town of Hajin.
A tweet from @BassamJaara was the only source with an estimated tally of more than 30 casualties, claiming that: “More than 30 people, mostly children and women, were killed by US air strikes on the village of Al-Bahra northwest of the Hajeen city of Deir Al-Zour yesterday.” A tweet by @CkmKZSiHpiYW0c1 mentioned “dozens” of civilians were injured by an “aerial bombardment of international coalition”.
Most other sources however, reported instead eleven slain and seven injured civilians – with some reports specifically mentioning “US airstrikes”.
According to a number of local reports, the strikes hit a hospital in the rural town. This was later also noted by the Syrian Network for Human Rights, which said that the airstrikes rendered the makeshift hospital inoperable.
In February 2019, the Coalition assessed this event to be non-credible. Their report noted: “After review of all available strike records it was determined that more likely than not civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition strike.”
In May 2019, the Coalition appear to have re-assessed this allegation, still resulting in a non-credible assessment. Their report noted, “after a review of all available strike records it was determined that, more likely than not, civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition strike.”
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Bahra village (البحرة), for which the generic coordinates are: 34.74226, 40.76953. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (12) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (4) [ collapse]
-
Photo of the alleged Coalition airstrike on Al Bahra (via Ahmad Al Shbli).
-
The aftermath of the alleged Coalition airstrike on a hospital in Al Bahra (via Ahmad Al Shbli).
-
A stills image from an ISIS proaganda video said to show Coalition strikes on al Bahra February 2nd 2018
-
Image from the SNHR published by Bellingcat showing the aftermath of an alleged coalition attack on a hospital in al-Bahra in Deir Ezzor on February 2nd, 2018.
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
-
Feb. 2, 2018, near al-Bahra, Syria via Airwars report. After review of all available strike records it was determined that more likely than not civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition strike.
-
Feb. 2, 2018, near al-Bahra, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available strike records it was determined that, more likely than not, civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition strike.
Original strike reports
For February 2nd the Coalition reported: “On Feb. 2 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted six strikes consisting of 16 engagements against ISIS targets.