Geolocation
Airwars assessment
At least one young man was killed in an alleged Coalition and Syrian Democratic Forces operation in the village of Al Zir on October 16, 2021.
According to Euphrates Post, five people were arrested in a security operation carried out by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) with the support of the Coalition: Muhammad Khader Al-Rathi, Ayman Khader Al-Rathi, Moamen Khidr Al-Rathi, Jawad Ali Al-Ahmad Al-Khalaf, Moaz Ali Al-Ahmad Al-Khalaf. A man named Abdullah Ayad al-Khater, 25 years old, was also killed during the raid.
Step News Agency identified two young men as being killed in the raid after being shot by SDF forces.
Al Khabour News added the name Abdelwahab Ghanem Al-Rudaini to the list of people that were arrested during the raid and @humam_isa added the name Thaer Ghanem Al-Rudaini.
Zaytoun Agency reported that the SDF and Coalition forces raided the village of Al Zir “under the pretext of pursuing ISIS cells”, entering the village with a convoy of more than 20 armored vehicles with air cover from the Coalition. Civilian Abdullah Ayad al-Khater was said to be killed for violating the curfew that was imposed on residents and overall, 120 people were arrested and some of them were arrested while others were held for interrogation.
Syrian Documentation Center detailed that the “SDF gunmen deliberately shot a person who was standing near the house, which led to his death instantly”, adding that the SDF did not comment or explain why they killed the civilian who was not trying to escape or resist arrest.
Syrian Arab News Agency identified the man that was killed as being a civilian and added that 10 of the village’s locals were arrested and taken to a nearby location. Al-Tariq News put the number of people arrested in the raids at eight while Step News Agency added that 10 minors under the age of 18 were among those arrested and that the detainees were severely beaten before they were tied up and transported by the Coalition helicopters.
In a civilian casualty assessment released November 3 2023, the Coalition classed this event as ‘non credible’, claiming that “After a thorough review of all CJTF-OIR strike and operation history, no strike or operation was identified +/-24 hours, in the vicinity of the allegation.”
The incident occured around dawn.
The victims were named as:
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Zir (الزر), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.12527, 40.42864. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (23) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]
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Image of Abdullah Ayad al-Khater, killed during a raid by Coalition and SDF forces on October 16, 2021. (Image posted by the Syrian Network for Human Rights)
Syrian Democratic Forces Assessment:
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
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October 16, 2021, near Al Zir, Syria, via Airwars report. After a thorough review of all CJTF-OIR strike and operation history, no strike or operation was identified +/-24 hours, in the vicinity of the allegation. 3311/CS1966 37SFU3017187869