Conflict

U.S.-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria

Incident Code

CS304

Location

تلحوذان, Tal Houdan, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.298525, 38.0492592
Accuracy: Town

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: S273)

Six civilians were reported killed in the village of Tal Housan, in what Halab Today said was “a result of Coalition aerial bombing and the artillery of democratic forces; and the bombing by Daesh of a car on the outskirts of the village.”

Fierce clashes between ISIL and US proxies the SDF were reported in the vicinity that day. As Lens Young Manbij noted: “People from inside the village have told us that the village has witnessed very violent clashes between the Islamic State and SDF forces, and the village has been under the control of the IS since last night. Its residents have left towards the city of Manbij and Abu Qalqal, and today Monday afternoon warplanes are targeting the village and IS positions with several raids in an attempt to regain control of the village.”

In the second of their September 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.

Victims

Individuals

Ahmed Shamsi Assaf
male killed
Mawas Alhaji Musa
male killed
Khalaf Al-Hamadeen
male killed
Daughter of Abdullah al-Sheikh Khalaf
female killed
Displaced person from the Al-Safirah
killed
Maha Al-Essa
female Wife Isa Al-Ahmad Al-Omari killed

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Contested
Civilians reported killed
6

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Tal Houdan (تلحوذان), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.298525, 38.0492592. 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
37SDA146174
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
For August 30th-31st 2016, the Coalition reported that “Near Manbij, six strikes engaged four separate ISIL tactical units, and destroyed five fighting positions, a vehicle, a weapons cache, and two vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices.”
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2020-09-09
Original Source
Aug. 31, 2016, in Tal Houdan, 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. 3035/CS304 37SDA146174

Media From Sources (1)