Airwars assessment
Multiple sources reported that two brothers were killed by alleged Coalition strikes on al Soussa.
Most local sources identified the two civilians as Saleh Khalif al-Hassan and Falih Khalif al-Hassan. Most sources also identified the Coalition as the culprit and noted that the airstrikes had struck the brothers’ house. Baladi News mentioned that other civilians were wounded in the attack, but was alone in saying this. Shahab al Sousse and Step News Agency detailed that the strike took place at dawn.
While the vast majority of the sources reported that the incident ook place on July 27th, some sources, like Euphrates Post and Deir Ezzor 24, stated that the airstrike took place “yesterday” while publishing their report on July 27th. However, this is likely due to the fact that the brothers were killed at dawn.
Both Step News and Masar Press reported that two unnamed Islamic State fighters were killed in a strike on the town that day – though it is unclear whether these reports relate to the above incident.
In what may be a related event, Step News reported the deaths of two ISIS fighters in the town in a Coalition strike on the same day.
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.
The incident occured around dawn.
The victims were named as:
Family members (2)
- Saleh Khalif al-Hassan Adult male killed
- Falih Khalif al-Hassan Adult male killed
Summary
Sources (13) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
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July 27, 2018, in Al Soussa, 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. 3174/CS1785 37SFU805225
Original strike reports
For July 27th, the Coalition reported that “On July 27 in Syria, Coalition military forces conducted six strikes consisting of seven engagements against Daesh targets. Near Abu Kamal, six strikes destroyed one Daesh fighting position and damaged three Daesh lines of communication."