Conflict

U.S.-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria

Incident Code

CS1807

Location

السوسة, Al Soussa, Deir Ezzor, Syria

Geolocation

34.528889, 40.9675
Accuracy: Village

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: S1669)

A single source alleged that several dozen prisoners being held by Islamic State were killed when their prison was struck by the US-led Coalition or its allies the SDF.

The Facebook site Exiles of the Euphrates claimed the following: “An old and sly policy of Daesh – when you want to lose a village or a town which has a prison in it, you place a big flag or a gun on the prison [roof] so it gets fired on and this way you get rid of all the prisoners without having to worry about transporting them or stopping them from running away. This is what they did in Mosul and in other Iraqis towns and in Raqqa and al Mayadeen. Yesterday they repeated this  same game in Al Soussa, which led to the death of dozens of prisoners which Daesh was holding. We count them with God as martyrs.”

Airwars researchers can presently find no additional sources for this claim.

In the second 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 the allegation provided insufficient information on the timing and location of the strike to make a determination.

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Weak
Civilians reported killed
24

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Soussa (السوسة), for which the generic coordinates are: 34.528889, 40.9675. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Military Statements

Syrian Democratic Forces Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Syrian Democratic Forces
Syrian Democratic Forces position on incident
Not yet assessed
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
Insufficient information on the time and location
Civilian deaths conceded
None
Civilian injuries conceded
None
MGRS coordinate
37SFU805225
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
"On Oct. 10 in Syria, coalition military forces conducted 33 strikes consisting of 50 engagements against ISIS targets. Near Abu Kamal, 33 strikes engaged 18 tactical units, and destroyed 15 fighting positions, 11 mortars, two command and control centers, one tech vehicle, and two vehicle-borne IEDs. "
Dutch Military Strike Report
[For October 3rd-10th, Dutch F-16s supported ground troops in Syria during nine missions. Weapons were deployed during two missions. The weapons deployment took place in the province of Deir Ezzor, in the vicinity of Abu Kamal. ISIS weapons, a logistics warehouse and ISIS fighters targeted.]
French Military Strike Report
For October 10-16th, France report that the three CAESAR guns of Task Force Wagram carried out, from Iraqi territory, 28 firing missions (lighting, smoke, harassment, destruction). Aircraft made 18 sorties and carried out two airstrikes, north of Abu Kamal in Syria. Totals for Iraq and Syria since Sept 19th 2014: 8564 sorties, 1464 strikes, 2256 targets ‘neutralised’.
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2020-09-09
Original Source
Oct. 10, 2018, in Al Soussa, Syria, via Airwars report. The report contains insufficient information on time, location, or details to assess its credibility. 3196/CS1807 37SFU805225

Sources (1)