Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Multiple sources reported that more than 90 civilians died in a major incident in Al Thawra (Revolution) neighbourhood in Old Mosul. As Reuters noted, “Dozens of civilians were killed on Saturday by air strikes targeting homes in the Thawra district on the western side of Mosul, a neighborhood declared by Iraqi forces restored overnight by the Islamic state, local residents said.”
In June 2019 the Coalition accepted responsibility for this allegation of civilian harm – though conceded just one death. Its monthly civilian casualty report noted: “Coalition aircraft conducted an airstrike against a Daesh fighting position. Regrettably, one civilian was unintentionally killed due to their proximity to the strike.” This was later declared by the Pentagon to have been a US action.
Local Facebook group Sawlf Ateka reported that fatalities had resulted from actions by several belligerents: “The bodies of civilians fill the streets of Al-Thawra district, on the right side of Mosul.” They allegedly died after sniper attacks, “terrorist attacks, or because of the indiscriminate bombardment of mortars, artillery and aerial bombardment by the security forces.”
Sources reported to Al Jazeera that “there are dozens of civilians under the rubble, [and] no one knows whether they were alive or dead because Iraqi forces prevented anyone from reaching these areas.”
Iraq Newspaper cited a senior official of the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior’s Rapid Response Force, who spoke of a “total destruction of more than 30 houses in the Thawra neighbourhood, including houses belonging to the region’s dignitaries.”
Abdel Wahab Talal Hadidi and his father died after an airstrike was carried out in front of their house
It was also reported that Dr. Mohamed Mahmoud El Sheikh Issa, a neurologist in the Al-Thawra neighborhood, also died together with his father and son.
Mosul News Now (local Facebook group) named Ahmed Shiite Aida Abu Doaa as one of the victims. He reportedly was Director of Accreditation Company Asia Cell and Sales Manager of North Sale Company. Local comparisons were made to of the “massacre” to the major incident in New Mosul neighbourhood, on March 17th-18th.
The Coalition provided Airwars with the location of this incident, accurate to within a 100 metre box.
In May 2020 in its annual civilian harm report to Congress, the Pentagon said this had been a US action.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (2)
- Abdel Wahab Talal Hadidi Adult male killed
- Father of Abdel Wahab Talal Hadidi Adult male killed
Family members (3)
- Dr. Mohamed Mahmoud El Sheikh Issa Adult male killed
- Father of Dr. Mohamed Mahmoud El Sheikh Issa Adult male killed
- Son of Dr. Mohamed Mahmoud El Sheikh Issa Child male killed
- Ahmed Shiite Aida Abu Doaa Adult male Director of Accreditation Company Asia Cell and Sales Manager of North Sale Company killed
Summary
Sources (21) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (6) [ collapse]
Geolocation notes
Prior the Coalition releasing the MGRS for this incident, Airwas had geolocated it to the nearest neighbourhood/area at 36.34389,43.103399. In June 2019 the Coalition released the MGRS as 38SLF293237.
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:
Civilian casualty statements
-
April 19, 2017, near Mosul, Iraq, via social media report: After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographic area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.
-
Apr. 19, 2017, near Al Thawra, Iraq, via Airwars report. Coalition aircraft conducted an airstrike against a Daesh fighting position. Regrettably, one civilian was unintentionally killed due to their proximity to the strike.
Original strike reports
For April 18th-19th the Coalition publicly stated: “Near Mosul, eight strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units, destroyed 11 fighting positions, six rocket-propelled grenade systems, five anti-air artillery systems, four medium machine guns, four VBIEDs, a weapons cache, a front-end loader, an ISIS vehicle, a command and control node; and suppressed four fighting positions, four ISIS supply routes and four ISIS tactical units.”