Incident Code

CS261

Location

منبج, Manbij, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.5269242, 37.9559288
Accuracy: City

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: S236)

Three civilians were reported killed in Manbij, either by Coalition aircraft or more likely, as a result of a Daesh-boobytrapped vehicle.

As Lens Young Manbij reported, “Al Haj Mahmoud Sarmini, his wife and daughter Alaa Sarmini, 4 years old, were killed near al Fatah station. We don’t know whether it was an IS booby trap or air raids that targeted their home on Wednesday.

Others put the age of Mr Sarmini and his wife at 86 and 72, suggesting that Alaa was their grandchild or great grandchild.

In their May 2020 civilian casualty report, 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.

Victims

Family members (3)

Al Haj Mahmoud Sarmini
86 years old male killed
Al Haj Mahmoud Sarmini's wife
72 years old female killed
Alaa Sarmini
4 years years old female killed

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Contested
Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
Civilians reported killed
3
1 Child, 1 Woman, 1 Man

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Manbij (منبج), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.5269242, 37.9559288. 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
37SDA047425
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
For July 12th-13th, the Coalition reported that “Near Manbij, eight strikes struck five separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed eight ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL vehicle.”
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2020-05-01
Original Source
July 13, 2016, in Manbij, 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. 3009/CS261 37SDA047425