Israeli Military in Syria & the Gaza Strip

Israeli Military in Syria & the Gaza Strip

A child uses his mobile device in the ruins of a building in Beit Lahia, Gaza Strip on May 26th 2021. © Mohamed Zaanoun

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Incident Code

CI004

Incident date

September 5, 2014

Location

الموصل‎, Mosul, Houses neighboring the Turkish Consulate, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.34585235, 43.09857692 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Sources in the city claimed that an airstrike carried out at approximately 10pm in the vicinity of the Turkish consulate in Mosul had killed Ridwan Akram, his wife and their child. According to a commemorative Facebook page, the family had only recently returned after three months in Turkey when they died.

While a number of reports attributed the attack to the Coalition, others including Baghdad TV claimed that the Iraqi military (which carried out strikes elsewhere on the city that day) was responsible.

In its July 2017 civilian casualty report, the Coalition denied responsibility for the event: “Sep. 5, 2014, near Mosul, Iraq, via Airwars 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.”

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Ridwan Akram
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • (1 child1 man)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Discounted
    Those killed were combatants, or other parties most likely responsible.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (6) [ collapse]

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
    a:1:{i:0;s:20:"no_coalition_strikes";}
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Mosul, Iraq
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jul 7, 2017

  • 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.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

CENTCOM reported four airstrikes in the vicinity of both Mosul Dam and Irbil for September 4th-5th 2014. However none were reported for September 5th-6th, when this event appears to have taken place.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • (1 child1 man)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Discounted
    Those killed were combatants, or other parties most likely responsible.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (6) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI005

Incident date

September 14, 2014

Location

سنجار, Sinjar, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.3206914, 41.8641115 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

An internal CENTCOM review identified potential civilian casualties from a Coalition airstrike in “northern Iraq.” The only location for this date which matches is Sinjar. The incident was not previously tracked by Airwars.

According to a declassified CENTCOM document, “A review of FMV from a RECOIL feed revealed unknown individuals moving into a target area during a strike on PID ISIL fighters under SROE 001.”

A first stage review concluded “No CIVCAS determined“, citing local peshmerga reports that “all individuals engaged were ISIL forces”.

In an apparent contradiction, the Coalition reported the following in July 2017: “Sep. 14, 2014, near Sinjar, Iraq, via Airwars 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.” It is unclear why Airwars was quoted as the source of reporting for this incident.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Discounted
    Those killed were combatants, or other parties most likely responsible.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (2) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Sinjar (سنجار), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.3206914, 41.8641115. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

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.
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Discounted
    Those killed were combatants, or other parties most likely responsible.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (2) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS001

Incident date

September 23, 2014

Location

كفردريان, Kafr Daryan, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

36.176908, 36.668356 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On the first night of US airstrikes in Syria, the United States carried out a sequence of attacks on the Al Qaeda-affiliated Khorasan Group (part of the al-Nusra Front.) For the only recorded occasion during the allied air war, the US deployed Tomahawk cruise missiles to strike targets in the vicinity of Aleppo. Locals also reported what they described as US combat aircraft participating. Up to fifteen civilians died in the strikes, along with “a large number of mujahideen” according to one Al Qaeda-linked militant at the scene.

Eyewitnesses told SN4HR that all of the civilian deaths occurred when a house collapsed: “The huge pressure from the explosion caused the collapse of a two-storied residential house near the Nusra Front target, less than 100 m from it. This caused the death of 12 people, all civilians, including five children and five women.” SN4HR later added a 13th fatality to its lists.

The civilian victims were later named by various sources.

After examining video evidence of apparent US cruise missile fragments at the village, Human Rights Watch later said that the strikes “should be investigated for possible violations of the laws of war.”

Buzzfeed also spoke with two eyewitnesses to the attack, with one noting: “What we saw with our own eyes was unreal — the [civilian] houses were completely gone. Our job was to collect the body parts. The worst thing was the children. It’s still in my mind.”

An internal CENTCOM investigation into alleged civilian deaths swiftly concluded “No further inquiry required,” it was revealed a year later. This was in part based on an assessment that “Open source images presented as casualties from the strikes actually came from previous GoS [Government of Syria] strikes.”

Airwars has since examined all known published images relating to the Kafr Daryan event. As our Syria researcher Kinda Haddad notes, “Every picture but one we are aware of first appears on 23rd September 2014, and in connection with Kafr Daryan.”

The one known exception is a picture which first appeared as a tweet on September 2nd, after a child was killed by the Assad regime. Shortly after the Kafr Daryan attack some three weeks later, that same image was claimed in English by at least one site to have been taken at Kafr Daryan.

However even a rudimentary search by CENTCOM would have identified multiple photographs and videos relating to September 23rd itself. Even when investigators noted new evidence on the strike from the Syrian Network for Human Rights in April 2015, this did not appear to trigger any new inquiry.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (4)

Abd Al-Hameed Mohammad Jahjah
Adult male Named by Syria Martyrs, father killed
Reem Al-Hajji
Adult female Named by Syria Martyrs, mother killed
Basmala
Child female Named by Syria Martyrs, daughter killed
Mohammad abd al Hameed Jahjah
Age unknown male Named by Syria Martyrs, son killed

Family members (3)

Ramziya Juma’a Mahmoud Mu’az
Adult male Named by Syria Martyrs, father killed
Mrs Ramzia
Adult female Named by Syria Martyrs, mother killed
Mahmoud Juma’a Moua’z
Child male Named by Syria Martyrs, infant son killed

Family members (2)

Mohammed Darwish
Adult male Named by Global Post, husband killed
Fatima Darwish
Adult female Named by Global Post, wife killed

The victims were named as:

Zainab Mhanna Barakat
Adult female Named by Syria Martyrs killed
Safa’a Mhanna Barakat
Adult female Named by Syria Martyrs killed
Safwan Yihya
Age unknown male killed
Abu Yousef Al Kannass
Adult male Named by Syria Martyrs, Turkish killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    13 – 18
  • (5 children5 women4–6 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    15
  • 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 (24) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (13) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    GRAPHIC Mahmoud Juma’a Mua’az, slain in a reported US strike Sept 23 2014 (SNHR)
  • Alleged cruise missile fragment recovered from the scene, Sept 2014 (SNHR)
  • Video posted by Salah Fojo, resident of Kafar Daryan village. Shows unidentified victims removed from rubble. Titled ‘Idlib countryside the search for the casualties following the raid by the coalition forces on Kafar Daryan’
  • Video posted by Salah Fojo purporting to show fragments of US missile from attack
  • Video posted by Salah Fojo of victims being rushed for medical treatment at Kafar Daryan

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Video posted by Salah Fojo, resident of Kafar Daryan, showing children reportedly injured in the air raid
  • Video posted by a satellite channel called Sadaa Al-Sham with three eye witness accounts from villagers.
  • Another video of the incident posted by Salah Fojo
  • Video described as “documents the shelling of Jabhat Al Nusra Headquarters” posted by Salah Fojo
  • Video described as “documents the destruction caused by coalition forces airstrikes” posted by Salah Fojo
  • Remnants of the US missile supposedly used in the attack (via Salah Fojo)
  • Basmala Jahjah who was reportedly in the strike (via SN4HR)
  • Mohammad Abd Al-Hameed Jahjah who was reportedly killed in the strike (via SN4HR)

Geolocation notes (2) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention a residential building in Kafr Daryan (كفردريان) village. We identified building destroyed in (كفردريان) Kafr Daryan during the time period are: 36.176908, 36.668356. However, to the limited satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

  • Destroyed building in (كفردريان) Kafr Daryan. Before

    Date taken:
    August 4, 2014

    Imagery:
    © 2018 Google

  • Destroyed building in (كفردريان) Kafr Daryan. After

    Date taken:
    September 10, 2015

    Imagery:
    © 2018 Google

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
  • Stated location
    near Kafr Daryan, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SBA903060
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jun 28, 2018

  • After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    13 – 18
  • (5 children5 women4–6 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    15
  • 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 (24) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS009

Incident date

September 24–29, 2014

Location

الرقة‎, Ar Raqqah, Syria

Geolocation

35.9505639, 39.0094148 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A number of sources including the Syrian Martyrs website reported that a woman was killed in a Coalition airstrike on Ar Raqqah. She was reported as being a resident of the city.

The3 Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies also reported her death fropm Coalition actions – though said this occured on September 24th: ” Fawzia al-Jadou, from Raqqa, was martyred by the bombing of the international coalition forces, on 24/9/2014.”

According to Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, “Ms. Fawzia al-Jadou died due to extreme panic which led to an attack that stopped her breathing and killed her.”

A Syrian Network for Human Rights report relating to this event can no longer be traced.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Fawzia Al Ghaddou
Adult female Named by Syrian Martyrs and DCHRS killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 woman)
  • 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 (4) [ collapse]

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
  • Stated location
    near Raqqah, Syria
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jun 28, 2018

  • After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

The coalition has confirmed airstrikes in the vicinity on September 28th-29th 2014: “Two airstrikes were conducted on ISIL compounds near Ar Raqqah.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 woman)
  • 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

Incident Code

CS002

Incident date

September 25, 2014

Location

الحسكة, Al-Hasakah, Syria

Geolocation

36.5044792, 40.74354 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

The Syrian Martyrs website claimed that six unnamed civilian males were killed in a Coalition airstrike on Al Hassakah. It said it had obtained the news via the Syrian Network for Human Rights, though that original report cannot presently be traced.

In July 2017 the Coalition classed the event as Non-Credible, saying there was too little information for it to make a determination: “Sep. 25, 2014, near Al Hasakah, Syria, via Airwars report: The report contained insufficient information of the time, location and details to assess its credibility.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6
  • (6 men)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (2) [ collapse]

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
    Insufficient information on the time and location
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Al Hasakah, Syria
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jul 7, 2017

  • The report contained insufficient information on the time, location and details to assess its credibility.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

Strikes in the vicinity were reported by the coalition for September 24th-25th 2014: “U.S. military forces and partner nations, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, attacked ISIL terrorists in Syria today, using a mix of fighter and remotely piloted aircraft to conduct 13 airstrikes against 12 ISIL-controlled modular oil refineries located in remote areas of eastern Syria in the vicinity of Al Mayadin, Al Hasakah, and Abu Kamal and one ISIL vehicle near Dayr az Zawr, also in eastern Syria.“

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6
  • (6 men)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (2) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS003

Incident date

September 26, 2014

Location

الحسكة, Al-Hasakah, Syria

Geolocation

36.5044792, 40.74354 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

The Syrian Martyrs website claimed that three named men were killed in a Coalition airstrike.

On its summary page Syrian Martyrs listed the trio as civilians. However, their individual pages describe them as fighters.

According to a video tribute, Akta’a was an opponent of the Assad regime who had also fought the Kurds in Syria’s chaotic civil war, and it appears unlikely he was a non-combatant: “One of the first to come out in peaceful protests in the town of Jissr Al Shoughour, he [Akta’a] fought the regime peacefully but he found that peaceful means with the regime do not work so he fought like a hero and he avenged the blood of the pure. He was victorious and with his own blessed blood he wrote history. The coming generations will remember his victories against the Kurdish forces loyal to the regime. He lived and died a free man. May God accept him.”

The Violations Documentation Center listed a fourth name, that of “non-civilian” Yasin Shaikh Mosa.

In July 2017 the Coalition classed the event as non credible, saying there was too little information for it to make a determination: “Sep. 26, 2014, near Al Hasakah, Syria, via Airwars report: After a review of available information it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find that civilians were harmed in this strike.”

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Juma’a Zulti
Age unknown male Listed by Syrian Martyrs killed
Mohammad Juma’a Zulti
Age unknown male Listed by Syrian Martyrs killed
Nader Akta’a
Age unknown male Listed by Syrian Martyrs killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 4
  • (0–3 men)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (5) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Translation: "One of the first to come out in peaceful protests in the town of Jissr Al Shoughour. He fought the regime peacefully but he found that peaceful means with the regime do not work so he fought like a hero and he avenged the blood of the pure. He was victorious and with his own blessed blood he wrote history. The coming generations will remember his victories against the Kurdish forces loyal to the regime. He lived and died a free man. May God accept him." (via freejs11)
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
    a:1:{i:0;s:21:"insufficient_evidence";}
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Al Hasakah, Syria
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jul 7, 2017

  • After a review of available information it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find that civilians were harmed in this strike.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

US and allied airstrikes were only officially reported as taking place around Dayr az Zawr on September 25th-26th.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 4
  • (0–3 men)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (5) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI006

Incident date

September 26, 2014

Location

الموصل‎, Mosul, Tahrir, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.3895748, 43.2021904 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

“Seven civilians including two children” were reported by two local news agencies as being killed in a coalition airstrike in the eastern part of Mosul, in al-Tahrir Street.

Alternatively, the Baghdad Centre for Human Rights claimed that two separate coalition strikes – in the Fadhiliyah and Ba’shika neighbourhoods of Mosul – killed four civilians each.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    7 – 8
  • (2 children)
  • 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 (4) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Photo published on the site of the Baghdad Centre for human rights studies with the caption: American air bombing causes the deaths and injuries in Mosul

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention Al Tahrir neighbourhood (التحرير) in Mosul, Nineveh province. The coordinates for Al Tahrir (التحرير) neighbourhood are: 36.3895748, 43.2021904

  • At Tahrir ( التحرير )

    Imagery:
    © 2018 Google

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
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Mosul, Iraq
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jun 28, 2018

  • After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

No coalition strikes were officially reported in Mosul between September 25th-27th 2014. A spokesman also told Airwars that “no Coalition airstrikes have taken place in the vicinity” on the date listed.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    7 – 8
  • (2 children)
  • 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 (4) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS004

Incident date

September 27, 2014

Location

الفدغمي, Fadghami, Al-Hasakah, Syria

Geolocation

35.9117847, 40.8869932 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Six male civilians, all cousins were killed in the village of Al Fadghami, Al Hassakah “as a result of Coalition strikes” it was reported.

Local activist Siraj al Hasskawi published details of the event on the day: “At 10:30 on Friday morning the Western/Arab alliance jets committed a massacre against six unarmed civilians and wounded two in the village of Al Fadghami 70 km South of Hasaka city on the old Hassaka/Deir Ezzor road near Shaddadi city…. The six martyrs had met, along with a number of relatives, in front of the home of Mr. Suleiman to eat breakfast and had their cars parked in front of the house. Unmanned surveillance planes were circling the skies of the village and surrounding villages. Then without warning a coalition aircraft fired a missile on one of their cars, burning it completely and killing the six cousins, and injuring two others. The first car was completely destroyed and the second one was damaged. The house where women and children live was partially damaged.

Civilians reported killed: Coalition position: Sources: Quality of reporting:

… Both Mahmoud and Hussein had returned from Iraq two months ago with their parents after the border between Syria and Iraq was removed, and they both decided to live in the village of their parents. Mahmoud lived in the house of Mr. Suleiman Hussein al Salim, in front of which the massacre took place. The other four martyrs (Satem, Abdullah, Ghassan .and Ali ) were all civilians working in agriculture and other freelance work and did not belong to any armed military faction. All were married and each had children between the ages of 9 and 15. They have now been buried in al Fadaghma Cemetery.”

The men, all residents of al Fadghami, have been identified by the VDC.

Also reported injured in the event were Bashar Hamidi al Salim and Ashraf Mukhlef Al Ali.

In July 2017, the Coalition said there was ‘insufficient evidence’ to determine civilian casualties: “Sep. 27, 2014, near Al Fadghami, Syria, via Airwars report: After a review of available information and strike video it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find that civilians were harmed in this strike.”

Given how well reported the event was, Airwars is seeking additional clarification from the Coalition. We continue to assess this event as Fair.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Hussein Al Ali Al Khalil Al Salama
35 years old male Listed by VDC, Iraqi farmer killed
Sitam Al Atiya Al Salama
38 years old male Listed by VDC, farmer killed
Abdullah Muhssein Al Latif Al Salama
43 years old male Listed by VDC, former employee of the municipality of Al Mayadeen killed
Ali Antar Al Hannoush
41 years old male Listed by VDC, farmer killed
Ghassan Al Makhlaf Al Salim
35 years old male Listed by VDC, farmer killed
Mahmoud Halabi Dandah Al Salama
31 years old male Listed by VDC, from Iraq killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6
  • (6 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 (11) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Hasaka AlFadagmi shows alleged effects of the bombing of Coalition planes and remains of civilians
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
    a:1:{i:0;s:21:"insufficient_evidence";}
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Al Fadghami, Syria
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jul 7, 2017

  • After a review of available information and strike video it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find that civilians were harmed in this strike.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

Sources: Quality of reporting:

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6
  • (6 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 (11) [ collapse]