Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Four civilians were killed and up to 14 injured following air or artillery strikes on the Filasteen neighbourhood of al Soussa, with the Coalition believed by sources to be responsible.
A resident of Abu Kamal told Al Haal that Coalition aircraft had targeted the village with more than five raids – with one of them hitting a motorcycle market. According to the report this resulted in the deaths of four civilians and the injuring of 14. Several sources reported that al Sha’afa and Hajin were also targeted by both Coalition airstrikes and “artillery shelling by the forces of the SDF” [most likely in fact by the Coalition].
Step mentioned in its own report that civilians were wounded when an ISIS vehicle was targeted – also killing four ISIS fighters. According to Deir Ezzor Media Centre the civilians had been “nearby” when the vehicle was hit. Radio al Kull however stated that four civilians were in fact killed as they were on board the targeted vehicle as detainees. Sound and Picture was the only media outlet claiming that dozens of civilians were injured.
Euphrates Post initially reported that civilians were injured and killed by “an artillery bombardment”, but later concluded that four civilians died and a number were wounded as a result of a raid by a military aircraft in the afternoon. A later report by the news organization also provided the names and photos of the four killed civilians.
In October 2018, the US-led Coalition admitted responsibility for the deaths of four civilians in an event at al Soussa – although this was dated the previous day. The Coalition later confirmed to Airwars in February 2019 that event CS1752 is unlikely to be the confirmed incident dated the previous day, based upon the descriptions. Those conceded deaths are now recorded as CS1751a.
The incident occured around dawn.
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (24) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (7) [ collapse]
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One of the four men allegedly killed in the airstrike on the village of Al Soussa (via Euphrates Post)
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One of the four men allegedly killed in the airstrike on the village of Al Soussa (via Euphrates Post)
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One of the four men allegedly killed in the airstrike on the village of Al Soussa (via Euphrates Post)
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One of the four men allegedly killed in the airstrike on the village of Al Soussa (via Euphrates Post)
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Debris from a car that was allegedly targeted in a Coalition airstrike (via Euphrates Post)
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A destroyed vehicle at al Soussa said to have been carrying four named civilian male victims (via Euphrates Post)
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A destroyed vehicle at al Soussa said to have been carrying four named civilian male victims (via Euphrates Post)
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the Filasteen (فلسطين) neighbourhood (a market for motorbikes) in the village of al Soussa (السوسة), for which the coordinates are: 34.528889, 40.9675. Strikes were first reported at 6 am local time, civilian casualties were first reported at noon
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
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During a strike on Daesh IED facility, four civilians were unintentionally killed.
Original strike reports
For May 16th, the Coalition reported that: “Near Abu Kamal, 10 strikes engaged one Daesh tactical unit, destroyed one Daesh vehicle and one Daesh fighting position."
Between 16th and 22nd May, France reports 34 artillery missions in the Euphrates Valley. French aircraft carried out 12 aerial sorties in support of ground troops but no strikes were conducted.
CHAMMAL SITUATION MILITAIRE DU THEATRE Sur le théâtre irako-syrien, l’activité majeure demeure l’offensive contre les dernières poches de Daech en Syrie. Offensive contre les dernières poches daechies en Syrie En Syrie, les forces démocratiques syriennes, appuyées par la Coalition, ont achevé la conquête de la bande frontalière avec la saisie de Baghouz. Le bilan des deux premières semaines d’offensive est positif dans la mesure où tous les objectifs ont été atteints et que la coordination entre les forces démocratiques syriennes et les forces de sécurité irakiennes s’est bien déroulée. L’objectif consiste maintenant à poursuivre la réduction de ces poches qui sont les dernières emprises territoriales de Daech sur le théâtre. Poursuite des actions de sécurisation en Irak En Irak, la semaine a été relativement calme après les élections parlementaires dont le déroulement s’est effectué sans incident sécuritaire majeur. Les forces de sécurité irakiennes mènent actuellement des opérations de sécurisation dans le nord de Bagdad, dans l’Anbar, en Ninive et dans la région de Tikrit. ACTIVITE DE LA FORCE Poursuite des actions de formation au profit des forces de sécurité irakiennes La Task force Narvik poursuit ses actions de formation au profit des soldats irakiens de l’Iraki Couter Terrorism Service (ICTS). Deux stages sont toujours en cours : un stage de restitution au profit de 460 stagiaires et un nouveau stage d’apprentissage au recueil de renseignements au profit d’une vingtaine de stagiaires. La Task force Monsabert conduit quant à elle deux stages au profit des soldats de la 6e division irakienne : un stage d’apprentissage des techniques de fouille opérationnelle et un stage dédié aux techniques de combat tactique dans un environnement pollué par des engins explosifs improvisés. La Task Force Wagram en appui de l’offensive contre les dernières poches de Daech présentes dans la vallée de l’Euphrate Les artilleurs de la Task Force Wagram demeurent engagés en appui de l’offensive contre les dernières poches de Daech dans la vallée de l’Euphrate. Depuis le lancement de l’offensive le 1er mai, ils ont d’ores et déjà réalisé 84 missions de tirs.'