Conflicts

Russian Military in Syria
U.S.-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria

Incident Codes

CS230 RS0909

Location

‏السموقة‬, Jisr Samouqa, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.433611, 37.249444
Accuracy: Village

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: July 23, 2025

(Previous Incident Codes: R811S208RS905)

Three civilians died in an airstrike on the village of Samouqa, according to local sources – though reports were conflicted as to whether this was the work of Russia or the US-led Coalition.

Aleppo24, @ALAMAWI, Al Mukhtassar and Nabd Syria blamed Russia.

Aleppo 24 reported: “A family made up of 7 people killed and 3 other civilians killed in a cluster bomb raid thought to be Russian on the villages of Al Ghoz and al Samouq in al Shahba dam northern Aleppo countryside.”

According to Al Mukhtassar, “10 killed and dozens injured following Russian strikes using cluster bombs on the towns of al Ghoz and al Samouqa and al Shahba Dam area in northern Aleppo countryside.

However, LCCSY reported three deaths were caused by “airstrikes with cluster bombs, believed to have been carried out by international Coalition warplanes.”

There had been no prior allegations of Coalition aircraft using cluster munitions – though many such claims against Russia.

In the first of their March 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 no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area at that time.

Key Information

Country
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Contested
Civilians reported killed
3

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Jisr Samouqa (‏السموقة‬), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.433611, 37.249444. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Military Statements

Unknown Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Unknown
Unknown position on incident
Not yet assessed
Unknown Strike Report
Russia has not reported any strikes between June 1st – 31st 2016.
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
MGRS coordinate
37SCA430334
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
For June 13th - 14th: • Near Manbij, 13 strikes struck 10 separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed six ISIL fighting positions, three ISIL cave entrances, an ISIL weapons cache, an ISIL command and control node, two ISIL vehicles, and an ISIL security headquarters. • Near Mar’a, three strikes struck two ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL tactical vehicle, and an ISIL mortar system. For June 14th - 14th: * Near Manbij, six strikes struck six separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed five ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL vehicle.
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2020-03-25
Original Source
June 14, 2016, in Samouqa, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties. 2973/CS230 37SCA430334

Media From Sources (2)