Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Between 10 and 30 civilians were reported killed and “dozens” injured in an alleged Coalition airstrike on Al Sha’afa. Most sources stressed that many of the victims were women and children.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had documented the deaths of 22 civilians, including 9 children and 7 women and stressed that the toll was expected to rise due to the critical situation some of the injured civilians were in.
Deir Ezzor 24 tweeted that airstrikes had targeted the “Al Kashma district” of Al Sha’afa – later mentioning that more than ten civilians were harmed by the bombardments. Most sources specifically reported that 17 or 26 civilians were killed, with Free Deir Ezzor Radio even reporting “more than 30 martyrs, mostly women and children, as a result of US air strikes at dawn today”.
One activist, who declined to be named, told Smart News reporters that the civilian casualties may be ISIS family members as “the town’s families had left more than a month ago.” This was echoed by tweets from @QSD_Jabha and @Norsforstudies, as well as a Baladi report stating that – according to so-called Islamic State itself – 30 civilians were killed in Al Sha’afa.
In its monthly civilian casualty assessment for September 2019 – published on November 15th – the alliance classed the event as ‘non credible’, asserting that “After a review of all available records it was determined that, more likely than not, civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition action.”
Coalition officials confirmed to Airwars that their review was a match for this event, and provided coordinates for the area assessed to within 100 metres.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Sha’afa: Al-Kashma district (الشفعة), for which the generic coordinates are: 34.57888, 40.93441. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (18) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
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February 28, 2018 near Al Shafah, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was determined that, more likely than not, civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition action.
Original strike reports
For February 28th, the Coalition reported: “On Feb. 28 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted three strikes consisting of four engagements against Daesh targets. Near Abu Kamal, three strikes engaged two Daesh tactical units and destroyed a Daesh supply route and a Daesh-held building.”
Wednesday 28 February – Typhoons attacked two Daesh armoured vehicles in eastern Syria, and cratered a road to prevent it being used to move supplies or truck-bombs…Royal Air Force aircraft continued to fly daily armed reconnaissance patrols over eastern Syria, but the next air strikes did not occur until Wednesday 28 February. One flight of Typhoons delivered attacks with Paveway IVs against two Daesh armoured vehicles spotted by the Syrian Democratic Forces to the north-east of Abu Kamal, with one of the weapons being accurately delivered through cloud against a target which the aircrew could not themselves see. A second Typhoon flight conducted Paveway attacks on a key road in the area, cratering it to prevent the terrorists from moving equipment along it, particularly heavy truck-bombs.
For Feb 28th to March 6th, France reports 30 air sorties providing intelligence support to SDF forces engaged on the ground. No strikes were conducted. Task Force Wagram continued its support for security operations carried out by the ISF in the Euphrates Valley. This week, four shooting missions were carried out (2 interdiction missions and 2 illuminance missions.)
‘OPÉRATION CHAMMAL SITUATION MILITAIRE DU THEATRE Sur le théâtre irako-syrien, les opérations se poursuivent. Les objectifs demeurent de défaire les dernières poches terroristes en Syrie et de sécuriser le territoire irakien. Poursuite des combats en Syrie En Syrie, les forces démocratiques syriennes poursuivent leur effort contre les dernières poches de Daech en Syrie présentes sur les rives orientales de l’Euphrate, l’une située autour de Dashisha le long de la frontière avec l’Irak et l’autre dans la vallée de l’Euphrate à proximité d’Abou Kamal, autour de la ville d’Hajin. Poursuite des actions de sécurisation en Irak En Irak, conduisant une vingtaine d’opérations par semaine, les forces de sécurité irakiennes poursuivent la sécurisation du territoire. Ces opérations se concentrent autour des principales agglomérations, mais aussi dans le désert de l’Anbar où de nombreuses caches terroristes ont été récemment décelées et détruites. Retour progressif des réfugiés en Irak En Irak, la situation des populations civiles revient progressivement à la normale. Au cours des deux dernières semaines, principalement dans la province de Ninive, environ cent trente mille personnes déplacées ont rejoint leurs localités d’origine. ACTIVITÉ DE LA FORCE Formation au profit des forces de sécurité irakiennes En fin de semaine dernière, la Task Force Narvik a terminé un stage de quatre semaines au profit des forces de sécurité irakiennes. Ce stage s’est déroulé du 6 février au 1er mars et a permis de former aux techniques d’infiltration une vingtaine de soldats irakiens appartenant à l’Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (ICTS), unité d’élite des forces de sécurité irakiennes. Les principaux savoir-faire transmis ont été la lutte contre les IED, le combat en zone urbaine, les techniques d’infiltration et de reconnaissance dans la profondeur et le secourisme au combat. La Task Force Wagram en appui des opérations de sécurisation La Task Force Wagram poursuit son appui aux opérations de sécurisation menées par les forces de sécurité irakiennes dans la vallée de l’Euphrate. Cette semaine, quatre missions de tirs ont été réalisées (2 missions d’interdiction et 2 missions d’éclairement – bilan du 28 février au 6 mars). Depuis le début de sa mission, la TF Wagram, a réalisé 1629 missions de tirs. Les bases aériennes en Jordanie et aux EAU en appui des opérations L’activité des forces aériennes françaises engagées dans l’opération Chammal se concentre sur l’appui aux forces démocratiques syriennes combattant dans la vallée de l’Euphrate. Dans ce cadre, les aéronefs engagés dans l’opération Chammal ont réalisé cette semaine 30 sorties aériennes orientées sur l’appui renseignement aux forces locales engagées au sol (bilan du 28 février au 6 mars). Aucune frappe n’a été réalisée. Bilan total depuis le 19/09/14 : 7845 sorties / 1443 frappes / 2233 objectifs neutralisés.’