Incident Code
Incident Code
Incident Date
Location
Geolocation
Geolocation
Airwars Assessment
(Previous Incident Code: S1766)
Local sources reported that a Coalition airstrike struck a civilian vehicle moving out of ISIS controlled areas at the intersection of Sheikh Hamad on the outskirts of the town Al Baghouz, east of Deir Ezzor, shortly before midnight.
The Coalition described an admission of six civilian deaths at Baghhouz on this date as “related incidents”, with the Pentagon later confirming it as a US action.
Dozens of families were reported to be leaving the town to other surrounding areas to escape the intensive shelling. A named woman was reported killed and her two daughters injured when their car was hit. Sources pointed out that the airstrike caused the destruction of several other cars as well, with more people reported wounded. There was therefore speculation that the death toll was expected to go up.
The Washington Post later reported that “the United States said Friday that it had launched an investigation into the death of a mother and the injury of two of her children when their car was allegedly hit by an airstrike.”
In December 2019, the Coalition conceded six civilian deaths on this date in the vicinity, stating that “January 22, 2019, near Baghouz, Syria, via media report. Coalition aircraft conducted an airstrike against Daesh facilities and vehicles. Regrettably, six civilians were unintentionally killed as a result of this strike. 2660 37SFU784153”.
Asked by Airwars whether this might be a match for this event, Coalition officials said that “The information provided in CS1890 leads us to believe that these are related incidents.”
In May 2020, this event was declared to be a US-only civilian harm event – though wrongly attributed to January 23rd 2019 – in the Pentagon-s annual report to Congress.
In their monthly civilian casualty reports, the US-led Coalition has indicated that the credibility of this civilian harm allegation is in the process of being assessed.
Victims
Family members (3)
Key Information
Geolocation Notes
Prior to the Coalition releasing the MGRS for this incident, Airwars had geolocated it to the nearest neighbourhood/area at 34.458659, 40.954199.