Incident Code

CS1784

Location

الشعفة, Al Sha'afa, Deir Ezzor, Syria

Geolocation

34.57888, 40.93441
Accuracy: Village

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: S1620)

Local sources reported that alleged Coalition airstrikes hit the village of al Sha’afa, either killing two civilians or injuring “several”.

According to Al Haal shelling by the “International Air Force […] focused on the side of the river” and resulted in “several civilians injured, in addition to material damage.”

Step News also identified the US-led Coalition as the culprit and reported that a house in Al Sha’afa was shelled, killing two people.

Deir Ezzor24 tweeted a video, stating that it showed the “great destruction in the homes of # civilians caused by the bombing of warplanes on the town of # al Shaafa # Rural Deiralzur”. It did not however make mention of any casualties as a result of the bombardment.

The Coalition at the time publicly reported no strikes in Syria on this date.

In the first of their September 2020 civilian casualty reports, the US-led Coalition assessed reports that they were responsible for civilian harm in this strike as “non-credible”, stating that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area at that time.

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Contested
Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
Civilians reported killed
2
Civilians reported injured
0–2

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Sha’afa (الشعفة), 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.

Military Statements

U.S.-led Coalition Assessment
Suspected belligerent
U.S.-led Coalition
U.S.-led Coalition position on incident
Non credible / Unsubstantiated
Reason for non-credible assessment
No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
Civilian deaths conceded
None
Civilian injuries conceded
None
MGRS coordinate
37SFU774280
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
For July 26th, the Coalition did not publicly report any airstrikes in Syria, asserting that "There were no reported strikes conducted in Syria on July 26, 2018."
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2020-09-09
Original Source
July 26, 2018, in Al Sha’afa, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties. 3173/CS1784 37SFU774280

Media From Sources (1)