Airwars assessment
According to local sources, up to four civilians, including women and children, were killed in an alleged Coalition airstrike on Al Baghouz Foqani.
Step News Agency reported that two women and one girl were killed and another person injured. The Syrian Network for Human Rights however stated that in fact two children and one woman had perished.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the airstrikes had targeted the house of an ISIS member, which killed his daughter and granddaughter and injured others. Euphrates Post added that “two daughters of Jamal al-Ali’s and one of Ra’ad Al-Jamal’s sons” were killed “and a large number of wounded among civilians”. In correspondence with Airwars, Deir Ezzor 24 said that three children died – a son and two daughters of Jamal Ali al Sharida.
Al Soussa Youth reported in a Facebook post that Ra’ad al Jamal himself was transferred to the hospital in a “critical condition”. However, in a comment to the post, an individual stated that “Ra’ad is ok, his leg was broken and had other injuries in his body.”
Both Deir Ezzor Now and Baladi reported that four civilians, a woman and three girls, were killed. While Al Haall mentioned the death a woman and only one child, the report identified that thirteen civilians were injured in the attack.
On August 30th 2018 the Coalition possibly confirmed responsibility for the event. “(3.) June 13, 2018, near Abu Kamal, Syria, via self-report. During a strike on Daesh supply route, one civilian was unintentionally injured.” While Airwars reported a maximum of 4 civilian deaths the Coalition only conceded the injury of one civilian.
The Coalition later supplied Airwars the military grid reference for the strike: 37SFU795166 (accurate to 100 m).
The date, location and description of the Coalition report are consistent with the الباغوز Al Baghouz incident, however we cannot rule out the possibility that this was a separate event.
The incident was first reported on June 13, 2018 at 11:00 am by .
The victims were named as:
Family members (2)
- Daughter of Jamal al-Ali (1) Child female killed
- Daughters of Jamal al-Ali (2) Child female killed
Family members (2)
- Ra’ad Al-Jamal Adult male Broken leg injured
- Son of Ra’ad Al-Jamal Child male Also listed by one source as son of Jamal Ali al Sharida killed
Summary
Sources (14) [ collapse]
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Baghuz Fawqani (الباغوز فوقاني), for which the coordinates are: 34.4641667, 40.9452778. The alleged Coalition airstrike possibly targeted the house of an ISIS member
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
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June 13, 2018, near al-Bagouz, Syria, via Airwars. After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.
Original strike reports
For June 13th, the Coalition reported that “On June 13 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of seven engagements against Daesh targets. Near Abu Kamal, four strikes destroyed two Daesh vehicles, one Daesh supply route and damaged one Daesh vehicle.”
For June 13th – 19th, France’s Task Force Wagram reports five shooting missions in the Euphrates Valley. Since the launch of the offensive on May 1st there have been 148 missions. Over the past week, There were 22 air sorties in support of the local forces on the ground, but no strikes.
‘CHAMMAL SITUATION MILITAIRE DU THÉÂTRE Offensive contre les dernières poches de Daech en Syrie En Syrie, l’offensive contre les dernières emprises territoriales de Daech se poursuit. Menée par les forces démocratiques syriennes, coordonnée avec les forces de sécurité irakiennes et appuyée par la coalition, l’offensive a déjà permis de reprendre plus de 150 km2 de territoire à Daech. Actuellement, les opérations en cours se concentrent sur la libération de la ville Dashisha. La résistance opposée par Daech demeure relativement faible. La principale menace reste celle liée aux engins explosifs improvisés. Poursuite des actions de sécurisation en Irak En Irak, les opérations de sécurisation se poursuivent à un rythme soutenu, donnant lieu à des destructions régulières de caches, de munitions et d’engins explosifs improvisés. Un climat sécuritaire qui s’améliore en Irak Le bon déroulement de l’ensemble des manifestations d’envergure récentes, notamment plusieurs pèlerinages et fêtes régionales ainsi que les élections, tend à montrer une amélioration notable du climat sécuritaire en Irak. ACTIVITÉ DE LA FORCE Formation au profit des forces de sécurité irakiennes La Task Force Narvik a débuté cette semaine cinq nouveaux stages au profit de l’Iraki Counter Terrorism Service (ICTS). Ils couvrent les domaines de formation suivants : la lutte contre les engins explosifs, le maniement et entretien d’armements lourds, le déplacement tactique en convoi, le secourisme au combat et le tir de précision. 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. Le nombre de canons de la Task Force a été ajusté, passant dans un souci d’ajustement des moyens au besoin opérationnel de quatre à trois canons. L’évolution de la situation du théâtre avec la reprise de plus de 98% de l’emprise territoriale initiale de Daech, couplée à l’autonomie croissante des forces de sécurité irakienne, permet cet ajustement. Depuis le lancement de l’offensive le 1er mai, la Task Force Wagram a réalisé 148 missions de tirs, dont 5 sur la semaine écoulée (bilan du 13 au 19 juin inclus). Depuis le début de son engagement, la Task Force Wagram a réalisé 1807 missions de tirs. Les bases aériennes en Jordanie et aux EAU en appui des opérations Sur la semaine écoulée, les aéronefs de l’opération Chammal ont réalisé 22 sorties aériennes en appui des forces locales engagées au sol (bilan du 13 au 19 juin inclus). Aucune frappe n’a été réalisée. Bilan total de l’action du pilier appui aérien depuis le 19/09/14 : 8159 sorties / 1450 frappes / 2241 objectifs neutralisés.’