Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Between 20 and 25 civilians died in a Turkish (or less likely Coalition) raid on al Bab.
According to ISIS’s media wing, “Turkish planes committed a new massacre in al Bab for the second day running – initial toll of 20 dead.”
Umayya reported the death toll as being possibly even higher than 25: “The number of people killed in Turkish airstrikes on the city of Bab on Friday rose to more than 25, mostly civilians, including seven children and ten women, including four families killed in the rubble of their homes, in addition to dozens of injuries.”
Graphic images posted on social media showed several slaim children.
LCCSY was the only source to attribute the attack to the US-led Coalition. 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 for Coalition caused civcas.’ It also stated that “After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area of the reported civilian casualties.”
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (8)
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (14) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (5) [ collapse]
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This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Photos of children killed in alleged Turkish strikes on al bab. 23rd December 2016. (via Khaled_qahtan) -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Photos of children killed in alleged Turkish strikes on al bab. 23rd December 2016. (via Khaled_qahtan) -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Photos of children killed in alleged Turkish strikes on al bab. 23rd December 2016. (via Khaled_qahtan)
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.
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.
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
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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
For December 22nd-24th the Coalition publicly reported no strikes in Aleppo governorate.
‘Friday 23 December – Typhoons bombed a terrorist position north of Tabaqah in Syria; in Iraq, Tornados hit a weapons cache north-east of Haditha, and a Reaper destroyed an artillery gun near Mosul…The next day [Dec 23rd], Typhoon FGR4s, armed with Paveway IV guided bombs, patrolled over Syria and successfully attacked a terrorist position which SDF fighters had encountered to the north of Tabaqah, near Lake Assad. In Iraq, Tornados used Paveway IVs to destroy a weapons stockpile some 50 miles north-east of Haditha, whilst a Reaper remotely piloted aircraft assisted the Iraqi operations in Mosul; its crew conducted a thorough check for civilians who might be at risk before a successful coalition air strike destroyed another weapons stockpile. The Reaper then delivered an attack using one of its own Hellfire missiles to destroy an artillery piece loaded on a trailer – as with the tank, the terrorists had attempted to hide the gun under a tarpaulin in thick woodland to the north-west of the city, but to no avail.’
Danske øjne styrer fly sikkert gennem Irak og Syrien “Hvis man forestiller sig at skulle lande i en lufthavn eller flyve, hvor flyvelederne sidder med lukkede øjne, så har man situationen, hvis vores radar ikke snurrede rundt.” 23-12-2016 – kl. 11:00 Af radarbidraget og ACW I en amerikansk enhed arbejder et mindre radarbidrag fra Flyvevåbnet, hvor de holder styr på luftrummet over Irak og Syrien i kampen mod ISIL. Kingpin bliver kontrolcentralen kaldt, hvorfra det amerikanske flyvevåbens 727th Expeditionary Air Control Squadron sammen med både australiere, englændere og danskere er øjne, øre og guidende hænder for flytrafikken. 24 timer i døgnet holder de øje med luftrummet over Afghanistan, den Arabiske Gulf, Irak og Syrien. De danske udsendte fra Flyvevåbnets Air Control Wing koncentrerer sig om Irak og Syrien og går under kaldenavnet Gotham, hvor de blandt andet anvender den danske radar på Al Asad Airbase i Irak, som er en del af det samlede danske radarbidrag. Men de trækker også på en række andre radarer, radioer og overvågningsfly, så der konstant kan produceres et opdateret luftbillede, så flyene kan blive støttet i deres missioner. – Vi er et relativt lille bidrag på i alt cirka 30 mand med operatører og radarteknikere, men effekten af bidraget er enormt. Hvis man forestiller sig at skulle lande i en lufthavn eller flyve, hvor flyvelederne sidder med lukkede øjne, så har man situationen, hvis vores radar ikke snurrede rundt, siger chefen for radarbidraget, oberstløjtnant Kim Krogh.’