Incident Codes

CS410 TS019

Location

الباب, Al-Bab, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.371972, 37.51631
Accuracy: City

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: S362)

At least thirteen civilians were reported killed and eight injured in either a Turkish or Coalition airstrike on al Bab. The Coalition later denied responsibility.

Al Jazeera – citing ISIS – said two families were among 13 dead civilians after multiple “Turkish airstrikes” on the city. The Syrian Observatory said that “no less than 12 civilians from three families were killed while others were wounded by Turkish airstrikes and bombardment by Turkish forces and al-Furat Shield forces targeted al-Bab city which is taken over by IS, including a man with his wife and 3 of their children in addition to another man from the same family, with his wife and 2 of their children, in addition to 2 children with their mother, the number of the dead is likely to rise.”

Shaam News placed the death toll at 20.

Almost all sources blamed Turkey. However LCCSY (which had claimed Turkey was not killing civilians in its actions in northern Syria) said the US-led Coalition was instead responsible. The Syrian Network also blamed the Coalition.

Halaab News (which blamed the Coalition) named the civilian victims.

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.’

Victims

Family members (9)

Adult male killed
Adult female killed
Child female killed
Child female killed
Adult male killed
Adult female killed
Child female killed
Adult female killed

Invidivuals

Child male killed
Child male killed
Adult female killed

Key Information

Country
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
13–20
7 Children, 4 Women, 8 Men
Civilians reported injured
12

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Al-Bab (الباب), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.371972, 37.51631. 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
Stated location
near Al Bab, Syria
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
For December 8th-9th 2016, the Coalition publicly reported no strikes in Aleppo governorate.
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2017-08-04
Original Source
After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area of the reported civilian casualties.
Turkish Military Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Turkish Military
Turkish Military position on incident
Not yet assessed

Media From Sources (1)