Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

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Incident Code

RS1278

Incident date

September 18, 2016

Location

الصاخور, Al Sakhour (Aleppo), Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.2179122, 37.1892357 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between one and three civilians including one woman and one child were killed, and several more wounded, by bombings carried out either by the Assad regime or Russian planes in the Al Sakhour neighborhood in Aleppo.

According to Halab Today TV and SyrianPC, an unidentified child was also killed. Meanwhile, Shahba Press tweeted that a woman was killed and several others wounded by an air raid, as did Syriamubasher.

Zamanalwasl News reported that 12 civilians were injured.

Local Coordination Committees of Syria (LCCSY) agreed with the number of casualties, but accused the Assad regime of carrying out the bombings, as did Alsharq.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Aisha al Jouma.
Age unknown female killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 3
  • (1 child1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3–12
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (24) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Injured child following an air raid on Al Sakhour neighborhood in the city of Aleppo (via BasBous0)

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

Russia has not reported any strikes between September 1st – 30th 2016.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 3
  • (1 child1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3–12
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (24) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS316

Incident date

September 17, 2016

Location

الثورة‎, Al-Thawrah (Tabaqah), Ar Raqqah, Syria

Geolocation

35.8295049, 38.5360909 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A reported drone strike at al Tabaqa “led to the martyrdom of Ibrahim Mahmoud al Said and the injury of a woman and two children,” according to Raqqa is Being Slaughtered. ISIL claimed the drone was American. VDC also named the victim, though said the aircraft as ‘unidentified’.

The Syrian Network reported that “Fixed-wing international coalition forces warplanes fired missiles that targeted Al Tabaqa city, located in the western suburbs of Al Raqqa and is under the control of ISIS, which resulted in the killing of Mr. Ibrahim Ismail Mahmoud Al Saeed.”

In its February 2017 civilian casualty report, the Coalition said it was assessing the incident: “Currently, 10 reports of civilian casualties are still being assessed: 2: Sept. 17, 2016, near Al Tabqah, Syria, via self-report.” In June, the Coalition denied any casualties: “Sept. 17, 2016, near Al Tabqah, Syria, via self-report: After a review of available information and strike video it was assessed that no civilians were harmed in this strike.”

Due to the multiple reports and named victim associated with this event, Airwars continues to class ths incident as likely.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Ibraheem Ismael Mahmoud al-Saeed
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • Civilians reported injured
    3
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (10) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • So-called islamic State blamed "an Ammerican drone" for a strike on September 17th 2016 which reportedly killed one civilian
  • Translation: al raqqa al Tabaqa - a drone raid near the sports city in al Tabaqa led to the death of Ibrahim Ismail Mahmoud al Said and the injury of a woman and two girls.
  • Translation: Ibrahim Ismail Mahmoud al Said who was killed following a drone raid targeting al tabaqa was a civilian and not from Daesh.
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
    Other
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Al Tabqah, Syria
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jun 2, 2017

  • After a review of available information and strike video it was assessed that no civilians were harmed in this strike.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For September 16th-17th 2016, the Coalition reported that “Near Ar Raqqah, two strikes destroyed an ISIL training compound, an oil well head, an oil pump jack, and two oil storage tanks.”

UK Military
  • English
    /
    Original
Official source

‘Saturday 17 September – a Reaper took part in a coalition air attack in eastern Syria that was alleged to have struck Syrian regime forces by mistake. Another Reaper provided close air support to Iraqi troops near Qayyarah… On Saturday 17 September, a Reaper joined other coalition aircraft in a strike against a reported Daesh position south of Dayr az Zawr in Syria, but this was later alleged to have in fact been a position held by Syrian regime forces; a detailed investigation into the incident is being conducted by the coalition.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • Civilians reported injured
    3
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (10) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS1277

Incident date

September 17, 2016

Location

الصالحية, Al Salhiye, Deir Ezzor, Syria

Geolocation

34.7146658, 40.7555866 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between three and four civilians died in an alleged Russian airstrike on the road outside al Salhiye, Deir Ezzor, local media reported.

Step News Agency – who put the death toll at one – stated that “Russian military warplanes launched several raids.”

Other outlets, such as @DeirElzor24 and @so_ria98, did not name the responsible party, but reported only that warplanes struck Al Salhiye.

According to LCCSY, “three civilians of one family, Hasan Jejan and his two kids, were martyred in an airstrike by warplanes on the second day of Eid, which targeted the road between Salihia and Husainia villages in the western suburbs”.

@AlMohaimmed put the number killed at four.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (3)

Hasan Jejan
Adult male killed
Child of Hasan Jejan
Child killed
Child of Hasan Jejan
Child killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 4
  • (1–2 children1 man)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (11) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Aftermath of the alleged Russian strikes on the city of Al Salhiya (via @AlMohaimmed tweet)

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

Russia has not reported any strikes between September 1st – 30th 2016.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 4
  • (1–2 children1 man)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (11) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS1276

Incident date

September 17, 2016

Location

جنات السلامة, Janat al Salama, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.2939575, 37.8688425 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Three children and one or two women, reportedly from the same family, were killed in the village of Janat al Salama, in the countryside of eastern Aleppo, according to local media.

All sources but one blamed Russia for the event. The majority of reports agreed Russian warplanes were to blame. Shahbapress, for example, referred to “the martyrdom of three children and a woman in the Russian raids on the village of Janat al Salama.”  Baladi Network, however, claimed that the warplanes were the regime’s.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (2 children1–2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (19) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

Russia has not reported any strikes between September 1st – 30th 2016.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (2 children1–2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (19) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS1275 CS315

Incident date

September 17, 2016

Location

تل حسان, Tall Hassan, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.0599239, 37.8514194 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One named civilian died and between three and 15 others were injured in an airstrike on Tall Hassan’s main mosque, near Aleppo – though sources were conflicted as to whether Russia, the Assad regime or the US-led Coalition were to blame.

Lens Young Manbij reported that “A short while ago a Coalition raid on the village of Tal Hassan near the town of Maskana killed Hamdi al Saleh and seriously injured his wife, daughter and granddaughter as well as destroying a mosque and a house in the village.”

However VDC and the Syrian Network blamed Mr al-Saleh’s death on the regime. But LCCSY was among other sources that blamed Russia.

Halab News put the death toll at three with 15 more wounded.

In their May 2020 civilian casualty report, the US-led Coalition assessed reports that they were responsible for civilian harm in this strike as “non-credible”, stating that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area at that time.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (4)

Hamdi al Saleh
Adult male killed
Wife of Hamdi al Saleh
Adult female injured
Daughter of Hamdi al Saleh
Adult female injured
Granddaughter of Hamdi al Saleh
Age unknown female injured

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3–15
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime, US-led Coalition

Sources (25) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (9) [ collapse]

  • Thiqa news reports the death of one man and injury of 3 others following warplane shelling on Tall Hassan village. 17th September 2016
  • Aleppo 24 reports the death of one man and injury of his family following air raids on the village of Tall Hassan in the western countryside of Maskana. 17th September 2016
  • LCCSY reports the death of one man and injury of 3 of his family following alleged Russian raids on Tall Hassan village. 17th September 2016
  • Aleppo 24 reports the death of a civilian and the injury of his family following air raids on the village of Tall Hassan. 17th September 2016
  • Amawi news reports the death of one man and the injury of three members of his family following alleged Russian raids on Tall Hassan. 17th September 2016
  • Halab Today reports the death of Hamdi al Saleh and the injury of his wife, daughter and grand daughter in addition to the destruction of a house and a mosque following air raids targeting the village of Tall Hassan. 17th September 2016
  • Baladi Network reports the death of one man and injury of others following an alleged regime raid on the village of Tall Hassan. 17th September 2016
  • Shahba Press reports the death of one man and several injuries following an air raid on Tall Hassan. 17th September 2016

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

Russia has not reported any strikes between September 1st – 30th 2016.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

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
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SCV965912
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • May 1, 2020

  • Sept. 17, 2016, in Tall Hassan, Syria via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties. 3052/CS315 37SCV965912

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For September 16th-18th 2016, the Coalition publicly reported no strikes in the vicinity of Manbij, Aleppo.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3–15
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime, US-led Coalition

Sources (25) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS1274

Incident date

September 17, 2016

Location

الرستن‬, Al Rastan, Homs, Syria

Geolocation

34.93, 36.74 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Four civilians died and several more were injured in alleged Russian or regime air or artillery strikes on Al Rastan, Homs, according to local media.

Among sources attributing the event to Russia were Al Jazeera and Smart.

However, many other reports, including those by @so_ria98, @ShahbaPress and LCCSY, pointed to the regime.

Several sources, such as LCCSY and SyriaPost1 noted the use of artillery, saying that the strikes were carried out with missiles stereochemistry.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–4
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (20) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

Russia has not reported any strikes between September 1st – 30th 2016.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–4
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (20) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS1273

Incident date

September 17, 2016

Location

تلبيسة, Talbisah, Homs, Syria

Geolocation

34.8420186, 36.711974 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between two and four civilians were killed by shelling from Assad’s forces on the city of Talbisah, local sources said. Two casualties were identified by name, a child and a woman.

Eldorar News stated that three civilians were killed, while RozanaFM stated “at least two women” died from regime shells.

All4Syria News named five total deaths in Talbissa on this date, two from shelling and three from a previously unexploded Russian cluster bomb (previous entry). Smart News described the raid as “Killing four civilians and wounding eight others”.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights, Smart News, Al Jazeera, and Sky News Arabia, among others, reported casualties from Russian airstrikes.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Alaa al Kassab
12 years old male killed
Khouloud Alloush
Adult female killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 4
  • (1 child1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–8
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (19) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

Russia has not reported any strikes between September 1st – 30th 2016.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 4
  • (1 child1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–8
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (19) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI288

Incident date

September 16, 2016

Location

عكاشات, Akashat or Saada, Anbar, Iraq

Geolocation

33.6696398, 39.9680901 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

An alleged Coalition airstrike in the al Qaim area resulted in the deaths of five civilians including two named children, according to reports.

Yaqein placed the incident on the evening of Saturday 17th. Picture of two unnamed boys emerged the same day, whose deaths were blamed on the Coalition. Two other civilians named as were among those reported killed – and another man was additionally reported killed at Rawa.

Samarra TV located the incident at one of two villages: Local sources confirmed on Saturday, killing a number of civilians, including children, caused by aerial bombardment targeted Akashat and the village of Saada and hand-Obeidi areas in the district-based western Anbar.

Reporting for this event and that above (at Rawa) remains confused.

Given reported British incidents in the area that day, Airwars flagged the incident to the UK’s MoD which said we can confirm that there was no UK involvement in the event.

In their May 2020 civilian casualty report, the US-led Coalition assessed reports that they were responsible for civilian harm in this strike as “non-credible”, stating that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area at that time.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Omar Abdel Karim
Age unknown male Via Algrbia Alhadath killed
Abu Fatima al-Kubaisi
Age unknown male Via Algrbia Alhadath killed
Abdel Karim
Age unknown male Via Rawa killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    5
  • (2 children2–3 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    7
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (6) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • Picture one of two boys reportedly killed in an alleged Coalition strike at Al Qaim on September 15th-16th 2016 (via news of Iraq)
  • Picture one of two boys reportedly killed in an alleged Coalition strike at Al Qaim on September 15th-16th 2016 (via news of Iraq)
  • An image reveals the destruction that followed an alleged Coalition strike at Al Qaim on September 15th-16th 2016 (via samarra tv)

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
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SET897259
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • May 1, 2020

  • Sept. 16, 2016, in Akashat, Iraq via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties. 3048/CI288 37SET897259

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For September 16th-17th 2016, the Coalition reported no strikes near al Qaim, though did declare others in Anbar province: “Near Hit, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a building… Near Ramadi, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and a staging area and destroyed a fighting position and a building.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    5
  • (2 children2–3 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    7
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (6) [ collapse]