Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS405 TS018

Incident date

December 6, 2016

Location

البزاعة, Al Baza'a, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.3829071, 37.56666 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Multiple sources blamed the US-led Coalition for the deaths of a woman and her seven children at al Baza’a, north east of al Bab. However the Coalition later assessed the claims as ‘Not credible.’ Given Turkey’sd own campaign at the time at Al-Bab, its aircraft may therefore have been responsible.

According to Step News “Coalition planes launch several raids on al Baza’a last night killing eight people including women and children.” The Syrian Observatory did not identify the perpetrators however, noting that “a woman with seven of her children was killed by massacre by warplanes targeted Bazaa village northeast of al-Bab city.

Syria News Desk reported the following: “A civilian source from al Bab, on condition of anonymity, told Syria news desk , that the planes targeted the old police station and nearby homes on the southern outskirts of town, confirming the presence of several dangerous situations among the injured, who were transferred to hospitals in Al Bab, making it likely that number of deaths will rise during coming hours due to poor medical facilities in the region.

“The source added that the raids resulted in the destruction of the police station building and two houses completely and burning a house and three civilian cars, in addition to considerable material damage to a number of shops and their contents.”

Euphrates Post – which also blamed the Coalition – named the dead.

In an emailed response to a report submitted by Airwars on this and other incidents in December 2016, Coalition officials said the event was presently assessed as ‘Not credible.’

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (7)

Adult female Wife of Abboud Abbas killed
Mohammed Aboud Al Abbas
Child male killed
Ibrahim Abboud Al Abbas
Child male killed
Hassan Abboud Al Abbas
Child male killed
Fatima Abboud Al Abbas
Child female killed
Walaa Abboud Al Abbas
Child female killed
Hilal Aboud Al-Abbas.
Child male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    8
  • (3–7 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    22
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    US-led Coalition, Turkish Military

Sources (6) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Al Baza’a (البزاعة), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.3829071, 37.56666. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

CJTF–OIR Declassified Assessment and Press Release

Attached to this civilian harm incident is a provisional reconciliation of the Pentagon's declassified assessment of this civilian harm allegation, based on matching date and locational information.

The declassified documents were obtained by Azmat Khan and the New York Times through Freedom of Information requests and lawsuits filed since March 2017, and are included alongside the corresponding press release published by the Pentagon. Airwars is currently analysing the contents of each file, and will update our own assessments accordingly.

Declassified Assessment Press Release

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Non credible / Unsubstantiated
    Insufficient information to assess that, more likely than not, a Coalition strike resulted in civilian casualties.
  • Reason for non-credible assessment
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Al Baza'a, Syria
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Aug 4, 2017
  • After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area of the reported civilian casualties.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For December 5th-6th 2016, the Coalition reported that “Near Manbij, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.”

French Military
  • English
    /
    Original

In the last week France has conducted 10 strikes: Eight in Iraq (near Mosul) and two in Syria. Eleven ISIL targets were destroyed.

#Chammal : 10 frappes cette semaine en Irak et en Syrie, 11 objectifs détruits.

Media
from belligerent (1) [ collapse]

  • See individual partner strike report for translation.

Turkish Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Turkish Military
  • Turkish Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    8
  • (3–7 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    22
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    US-led Coalition, Turkish Military

Sources (6) [ collapse]