Conflict

U.S.-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria

Incident Code

CS695

Location

السكرية, Sukariya, Al Bukamal, Deir Ezzor, Syria

Geolocation

34.471667, 40.911111
Accuracy: Neighbourhood/area

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: S612)

Between six and 17 civilians died and dozens more were injured in an airstrike on Sukariya area, according to local media. While most sources blamed the Coalition, one alleged that the Iraqi air force was responsible.

@ALAMAWI and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights were among sources that reported the death of a family of eight displaced civilians from Aleppo. According to JisrTV, “Coalition aircraft bombed nine civilians from one family, most of them children and women.”

Aksalser put the death toll as high as 17 but didn’t identify the culprit.

However, Smart News Agency pointed towards Iraqi forces, reporting: “The aircraft was believed to belong to the Iraqi air force and bombed a house in Sukariya in the countryside of the city of Al Bukamal (130 km southeast of the city of Deir al Zour), last night, killing nine civilians, displaced from the city of Aleppo, mostly women and children”.

Syria News Desk reported that eight displaced civilians from Aleppo, all from the same family, died in a Coalition strike.

In what is likely to be the same event, Sharqiya reported the deaths of 10 IDPs from Aleppo though at Al Hamdan.

In its July 2017 civilian casualty report, the Coalition deemed this incident non-credible due to a lack of evidence that civilians were killed: “April 15, 2017, near Abu Kamal, Syria, via social media report: After review of available information and strike video it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find that civilians were harmed in this strike.”

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Contested
Civilians reported killed
6–17
Civilians reported injured
12–24

Geolocation Notes

The majority of sources refer to the Sukariya neighbourhood (السكرية), adjacent to Al Hamdan neighbourhood in Al Bukamal (البوكمال) city. The coordinates for the Sukariya neighbourhood (السكرية) are: 34.471667, 40.911111. 

Sukariya neighbourhood (السكرية) in Al Bukamal (البوكمال)

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
Insufficient information on the time and location
Civilian deaths conceded
None
Civilian injuries conceded
None
Stated location
near Sukariya, Syria
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
For April 14th-15th, the Coalition reported: “Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike damaged an ISIS fuel facility.” For April 15th-16th: the Coalition reported: “Near Abu Kamal, three strikes destroyed three ISIS well heads and ISIS engineering equipment.”
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2018-01-25
Original Source
The report contains insufficient information of the time, location and details to assess its credibility.