Conflict

U.S.-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria

Incident Code

CS1918

Location

الشعفة, Al Shaafa, Deir Ezzor, Syria

Geolocation

34.57888, 40.93441
Accuracy: Village

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: S1793)

Ali al-Muhammed al-Furaiji and his two wives were killed in the morning of April 15th, when their house was hit by an alleged Coalition airstrike, multiple local sources reported – though there was also a claim that the deaths had been caused by an explosion of an ISIS-planted mine.

@alhasensaleem tweeted that “a whole family” had died, while other sources named the man and his two wives as the victims.

Other sources such as Deir Ezzor 24 said that the house was struck by an unknown explosion.

According to Jisir TV, “local sources said the blast occurred in a house belonging to a civilian, killing his two wives and destroying the house completely, adding that the explosion was believed to be caused by aerial bombardment of coalition fighters, while witnesses said it was caused by a mine left by Daesh.”

In July 2019 the Coalition announced that it had assessed this allegation of civilian harm to be non-credible. Their monthly civilian casualty report noted: “After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties.”

Victims

Family members (3)

Adult male killed

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Contested
Civilians reported killed
3
2 Women, 1 Man

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Shaafa (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
Stated location
Al Shafah, Syria
Location accuracy
100 m
MGRS coordinate
37SFU774280
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
Between April 7 - 20, 2019, CJTF-OIR conducted no strikes in Syria.
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2019-07-26
Original Source
Apr. 15, 2019, Al Shafah, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties.
ISIS Assessment
Suspected belligerent
ISIS
ISIS position on incident
Not yet assessed

Media From Sources (1)