Geolocation
Airwars assessment
According to the source Marsad al Hassaka, “more than 20 civilians were killed in an air strike by international coalition aircraft on a house in the town of al-Soussa in the eastern suburb of Deir al-Zour. There were dozens of air strikes targeting civilian houses and large-scale destruction in the town amid attempts by the SDF to enter its neighborhoods. The SDF are meeting violent resistance from ISIS”.
Meanwhile, on October 24th, Syria’s state news agency reported: “local sources told SANA that the coalition’s warplanes raided the residential neighborhoods in al-Soussa village and its vicinity in the south eastern countryside of the province, claiming the lives of a number of civilians and injuring others.
The Coalition’s chief spokesperson later tweeted that the alliance had carried out a strike on a mosque in Al Soussa on this day.
In another post, Marsad Hassaka (again on October 24th) gave some context: “There have been dozens of raids by the international coalition aircraft since early morning and artillery shelling fired from Al-Tank oil field targeting al Sousse. Additionally, there has been artillery shelling by the French in al Baghouz to prepare the ground for the Kurdish units to invade. The area saw missile shelling fired from al Omar oil field. Kurdish units are sending dozens of fighters to storm al Sousse following a counterattack by the organization [IS] yesterday night [Oct 23rd]. Clashes are continuing and Syrian regime forces are on alert on the opposite Bank of the Euphrates (al Shamia).”
In its October 2020 monthly civilian casualty review, the US-led Coalition classed this event as ‘non credible’, asserting that “This report contains insufficient information on time, location, or details to assess its credibility.”
The local time of the incident is unknown.
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.
Summary
Sources (5) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
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1. Oct. 24, 2018, in al Soussa, Syria, via Airwars report. This report contains insufficient information on time, location, or details to assess its credibility. 3209/CS1814B 37SFU805225
Original strike reports
For October 23rd-24th, the Coalition reported: “Near Hajin, 30 strikes engaged 16 tactical units, and destroyed 18 fighting positions, 10 supply routes, two bridges, three vehicles, two firing positions, one compound, one vehicle borne IED, one command and control center.”
For October 24th-25th: “Near Hajin, 27 strikes engaged five tactical units, destroyed 22 fighting positions, three firing positions, one weapons cache, two staging areas, three mortars, five supply routes, one IED factory, one vehicle borne IED, one bridge, one vehicle, one command and control center, and one factory.”
Wednesday 24 October – Tornados destroyed an armed truck, and two strong-points which were firing at the Syrian Democratic Forces…On Wednesday 24 October, another Tornado flight provided further close air support to the SDF in the same area [north-east of Abu Kamal]. Our aircraft struck a truck, armed with a pair of anti-aircraft guns, with a Paveway; the attack also accounted for a number of terrorists close to the vehicle. The SDF then encountered two successive Daesh strong-points, both of which engaged the SDF at short range. Despite the proximity of the SDF to the two targets, the Tornados were able to strike both of the terrorist positions with Paveway IVs.’
For Oct 24th-30th, France report that the three CAESAR guns of Task Force Wagram have conducted 6 firing missions from Iraqi territory. Aircraft carried out 18 sorties and four strikes north of Abu Kamal, Syria.
CHAMMAL SITUATION MILITAIRE DU THEATRE Offensive contre les dernières poches de Daech en Syrie L’opération pour reprendre la poche d’Hajine dans la moyenne vallée de l’Euphrate, lancée le 10 septembre, se poursuit. Daech a profité des mauvaises conditions météorologiques pour mener des contre-attaques cette semaine et reprendre du terrain aux forces démocratiques syriennes. Poursuite des actions de sécurisation en Irak En Irak, les opérations de sécurisation des forces de sécurité irakiennes (FSI) se poursuivent. ACTIVITÉ DE LA FORCE Le dispositif français déployé au Levant n’a pas évolué. La Task Force Wagram en appui de l’offensive contre les dernières poches de Daech présentes dans la vallée de l’Euphrate. La Task Force Wagram appuie l’offensive des forces démocratiques syriennes contre Daech dans la région d’Hajine. Les trois canons CAESAR ont ainsi réalisé, depuis le territoire irakien, 6 missions de tir (éclairement, harcèlement, destruction – bilan du 24 au 30 octobre inclus). Depuis le début de son engagement, la Task Force Wagram a réalisé 1998 missions de tirs. Les bases aériennes en Jordanie et aux EAU en appui des opérations Au sein de la coalition, les aéronefs français basés en Jordanie et aux Émirats arabes unis poursuivent leurs actions contre Daech. Cette semaine, les aéronefs de l’opération Chammal ont réalisé 18 sorties aériennes (bilan du 24 au 30 octobre inclus) et conduit 4 frappes, en appui des FDS au nord d’Abou Kamal en Syrie. Bilan total de l’action du pilier appui aérien depuis le 19/09/14 : 8600 sorties / 1476 frappes / 2275 objectifs neutralisés.'
For October 24th – 31st, Dutch MoD reports that Dutch F-16s supported ground troops during nine missions. Weapons were deployed in four: near Abu Kamal, Deir Ezzor governorate, Syria and near Mosul, Nineveh province, Iraq. Targets were ISIS warehouses and vehicles
‘In de strijd tegen terreurorganisatie ISIS ondersteunden Nederlandse F-16’s grondtroepen tijdens 9 missies. Bij 4 zijn wapens ingezet. Een overzicht van Defensieoperaties in de week van 24 tot 31 oktober 2018. Dat gebeurde in de provincies Deir al Zour en Ninawa, in de omgeving van Abu Kamal (Oost-Syrië) en Mosul (Irak). Doelwit waren opslagplaatsen en voertuigen van ISIS.‘