Incident Code

CS255

Location

الخفسة, Al Khafsa, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.2308082, 38.021965
Accuracy: Town

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: S231)

In what appears to be a separate incident from the two Manbij events for July 9th outlined above, up to five civilians reportedly died in a Coalition strike on Al Khafsa town.

As Syria News Desk noted, “A civilian source from inside Manbij told Syria news desk that 5 civilians were killed and 15 others injured, including some who are in a critical condition, following the targeting of coalition planes with more than 10 raids the garage of al Khafsa town and the area around the automatic bakery and al Sarab bridge west of Manbij which led to the destruction of the bridge and three entire residential buildings.”

The Syrian Observatory reported only one death, “of a child under the age of 18.”

In the second 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
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Civilians reported killed
1–5
1 Child
Civilians reported injured
15

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Al Khafsa (الخفسة), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.2308082, 38.021965. 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
MGRS coordinate
37SDA121099
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
For July 8th-9th 2016, the Coalition reported that “Near Manbij, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL-used bridge…. Near Manbij, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL-used bridge.”
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2020-03-25
Original Source
July 9, 2016, in Al Khafsa, 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. 3004/CS255 37SDA121099