Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Up to thirteen civilians reportedly died in airstrikes at Tadef near al Bab, as heavy clashes continued with ISIL for control of the strategic city.
Step News, Al Bab News, Syria News Desk and the Syrian Observatory blamed Turkey for the attack, while LCCSY said Russia was responsible. The Syrian Network instead said that “8 civilians, including a girl and a woman, died in International Coalition warplanes missiles fired on Tadef city.”
However, Abdulkarim Laila (who put the death count at seven) blamed Russia – as did LCCSY.
Syria News Desk reported an eyewitness in the town as saying that “Turkish aircraft targeted homes in the main market area of the city center, explaining that most of the injured are children and the elderly, confirming the presence of 11 in serious condition. There are also three unrecognisable bodies. The source added that the raids are fully resulted in the destruction of two residential buildings and damaged a number of nearby building.”
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (6)
- Ibrahim Hassan al Zein male killed
- Ahmad Juma’a al Zein male killed
- Mohammad Khalilo male killed
- Yahiya Ahmad Khalilo male killed
- the wife of Mahmoud Eido Al Khalaf female killed
- daughter of Mahmoud Eido Al Khalaf: Abd al Karim Al Sheikh Saleh female killed
- Ahmad Rahmo al Dalati Age unknown male killed
- Ahmad Wahab al Raziya Age unknown male killed
Summary
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the town of Tadif (تادف), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.34857, 37.531501. 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 the Pentagon's declassified assessment of this civilian harm allegation, obtained by Azmat Khan and the New York Times through Freedom of Information requests and lawsuits filed since March 2017, 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:
Original strike reports
For January 16th-17th the Coalition publicly noted: “Near Al Bab, two strikes destroyed a tactical vehicle and an excavator.“
For January 17th-18th it stated: “Near Al Bab, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.“