Between eight and nine civilians died in an airstrike on the al Masriya roundabout in Abu Kamal, according to local media – though sources at the time were conflicted as to whether the US-led Coalition or Russia was responsible.
In September 2019 the Coalition accepted responsibility for this incident. Its monthly civilian casualty report noted: “Coalition aircraft conducted an airstrike against a Daesh headquarter building. Regrettably, two civilians were unintentionally killed as a result of the strike.” Nine months later, the Pentagon declared this to have been a US action.
According to Sharqiya Voice at the time of the event, there were “dozens of martyrs and wounded in the city of Abu Kamal as a result of the bombing of warplanes at al Masriya roundabout a short while ago.”
Step News Agency pointed towards the Coalition, reporting that eight civilians died in a strike on trucks and shops near the al Masriya roundabout.
However, Euphrates Post attributed the event to Russia, reporting that nine died and dozens more were wounded when Russian planes struck a gathering of cars and food warehouses near the roundabout.
The Smart News Agency also blamed Russian jets, as did Baladi and Souriatna Press.
According to Marsad al Hassaka, airstrikes targeted the warehouse of Fayez Hamid Al-Alaw at dawn.
A former player with the Al-Fatwa Club was named as one of the victims.
According to a post on the Our Abu Kamal facebook page, eight civilians died, of which three were Iraqis, four from Deir Ezzor and one a local martyr.
In May 2020, in its annual civilian harm report to Congress, the Pentagon conceded this to have been a US military action.
The incident occured during the night.
