US-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria

Civilians in the ruins of Mosul city. (Maranie R. Staab)

Belligerent
US-led Coalition
Country
Iraq
Syria
start date
end date
Civilian Harm Status
Belligerent Assessment
Declassified Documents
Infrastructure

Incident Code

CI655

Incident date

April 20, 2017

Location

الموصل: غرب/الجانب الأيمن, Mosul, Al-Tanak, Zanjili, Farouk, Rifai, Old City and other neighborhoods, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.336843, 43.117979 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Local sources reported that airstrikes of the Coalition and the Iraqi airforce on several neighbourhoods in Old Mosul, as well as artillery shelling, led to the deaths of 18 civilians. It was also reported that more than 41 civilians were injured.

Correspondences Team and Al Rafidain reported 17 dead and more than 30 wounded in Al-Tanak, Zanjili, Farouk and Rifai neighbourhoods in West Mosul.

Amnesty field investigators later interviewed survivors of the al Tanak event: “Amnesty International interviewed witnesses to an attack on a civilian house on Street 20 in al-Tenak neighbourhood on either 19 or 20 April 2017. One of the witnesses was “Mohamed”, the house owner.

He had escaped from the area the night before. He learned on the telephone the following day that IS had taken over the house he had abandoned and that, as a result, it had become the target of air strikes. The air strikes destroyed the house containing the IS fighters. It also destroyed an adjoining house with a family inside. The houses were struck three times; two strikes occurred in quick succession and a third was carried out a short time later while rescue efforts were ongoing.

Amnesty International also spoke to two other witnesses, one of whom “Hamza” described going to the scene: “We were still in al-Tenak neighbourhood. The two homes were adjoining each other. After the second bombing, my son Mohamed went to the scene and tried to pull the bodies out of the rubble. One of the occupants, Mohamed Diab, was only buried from the waist down. My son Mohamed put his arms under Mohamed Diab’s armpits and tried to pull him free. They succeeded and Mohamed Diab survived. He was the only survivor from the house. While my son and the other civil defence lads were trying to dig out the others the plane came around again and struck again [for a third time]. It killed one of the [civil defence] lads.”

The first two strikes killed the IS fighters but they also killed the entire family living next door. The third strike killed one of the first responders. Amnesty International is concerned that the choice of munitions in this attack resulted in the destruction of a house full of civilians, as well as the decision to launch a third strike, once the houses had already been destroyed. Based upon available information, there are reasons to suspect that the first two strikes may have been disproportionate. The third strike raises the possibility that rescuers and the injured may have been deliberately targeted.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    17 – 18
  • Civilians reported injured
    30–41
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    US-led Coalition, Iraq Government Forces

Sources (8) [ collapse]

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For April 19th-20th: “Near Mosul, seven strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed five VBIEDs, five front-end loaders, four mortar systems, a medium machine gun and a VBIED factory.”

Iraq Government Forces Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Iraq Government Forces
  • Iraq Government Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    17 – 18
  • Civilians reported injured
    30–41
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    US-led Coalition, Iraq Government Forces

Sources (8) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI667

Incident date

April 26, 2017

Location

الحويجة, Hawijah, Kirkuk, Iraq

Geolocation

35.3240179, 43.77335 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

In its July 2017 civilian casualty report, the Coalition denied involvement in an incident that it said had been reported on social media. In its report, the Coalition wrote: “April 26, 2017, near Hawija, Iraq, via social media report: No Coalition strikes were conducted on that day in the geographic area of the reported civilian casualties.”

Airwars had previously been unaware of such an allegation.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Civilians reported injured
    0–1
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Discounted
    Those killed were combatants, or other parties most likely responsible.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (1) [ 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
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Hawijah, Iraq
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jul 7, 2017
  • No Coalition strikes were conducted on that day in the geographic area of the reported civilian casualties.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For April 25th-26th, the Coalition reported: “Near Kirkuk, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a command and control node.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Civilians reported injured
    0–1
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Discounted
    Those killed were combatants, or other parties most likely responsible.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI677

Incident date

April 29, 2017

Location

مشيرفة, Mosul, Meshrfa, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.376753, 43.049025 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Seven families – an estimated 20 to 40 people – reportedly died in a Coalition or ISF airstrike on a house on the outskirts of Msherfa in West Mosul.

Amnesty International shared the following field report with Airwars, citing a local eyewitness: “I witnessed another airstrike (presumed) on 29 April in Msherfa. It was a one storey building with no cellar. Only the old buildings have cellars; since we got rid of Saddam we didn’t need cellars anymore (said with a wry smile). The airstrike killed seven families. They (coalition airstrikes) killed more civilians than ISIS. For every ISIS killed they killed 100 civilians (exaggeration for effect).

I was at home in 17 Tammuz when I heard the explosion. The fighting at the time was in Rajum Hadeed. It was quite far from my home – maybe 300 metres away – but my aunt lives in that direction so I got on my motorcycle and went to see if she was alright. The explosion was close to my aunt’s house, on the road out of Musharrafeh towards Harmat. There was no fire at the scene, just rubble and dust. The civil defence boys came and started hosing down the dust in order to dig the bodies out.

I didn’t stay around long as I was afraid of a second strike; that the plane would come around and strike again. It didn’t on this occasion. The neighbours at the scene told me that there had been seven families inside. I don’t know if there had been military targets in the neighbourhood but ISIS was usually mixed in with the population.

I was not afraid of ISIS. You grow a beard, you cut your trousers (above the ankle), you don’t smoke and you’re ok. I was afraid of the coalition as when they strike they don’t know the difference between you and ISIS.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    20 – 40
  • (2 children2 women)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    US-led Coalition, Iraq Government Forces

Sources (1) [ 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
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Meshrah neighborhood, Mosul, Iraq
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Dec 28, 2017
  • 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. (1403)

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For April 28th-29th: “Near Mosul, four strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed four mortar systems, two supply caches, an anti-air artillery system, a tactical vehicle, and an ISIS staging area; damaged seven ISIS supply routes; and suppressed an ISIS mortar team” and “Near Mosul, Iraq; on April 29th, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed two fighting positions, two weapons caches, one mortar system, and one front-end loader; and suppressed a heavy machine gun.”

Iraq Government Forces Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Iraq Government Forces
  • Iraq Government Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    20 – 40
  • (2 children2 women)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    US-led Coalition, Iraq Government Forces

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS772

Incident date

May 5, 2017

Location

دبسي عفنان, Dibsi Afnan, Ar Raqqah, Syria

Geolocation

35.8175348, 38.2162857 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

According to the Smart News Agency, “eleven civilians were killed and injured earlier in the day in a bombing by likely allied aircraft on the village of Dabsi Afnan (120 km west of Raqqa).”

No further details are currently available.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 11
  • Civilians reported injured
    1–11
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (1) [ 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
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Dibsi Afnan, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SDV293639
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jan 25, 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

For May 4th-5th, the Coalition reported: “Near Raqqah, three strikes destroyed a front-end loader and an ISIS well head. Near Tabqah, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two fighting positons and a vehicle.”
For May 5th-6th: “Near Raqqah, one strike destroyed two front-end loaders and damaged a dam. Near Tabqah, seven strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units; destroyed two ISIS boats, two vehicles, two fighting positions and a VBIED.” It later added that “Near Tabqah, Syria, May 5th, two strikes destroyed a fighting position.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 11
  • Civilians reported injured
    1–11
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS793

Incident date

May 10, 2017

Location

شنينة, Shanina, Ar Raqqah, Syria

Geolocation

36.0089089, 39.0964794 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Four civilians including two children and one woman were reportedly killed in alleged Coalition airstrikes at Shanina village, north of Raqqa city.

Among the dead were one woman and two children, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights.

Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently reported the names of civilians killed.

All three sources alleged the Coalition responsible.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (3)

Hamidi al Baltat
Age unknown killed
Ibrahim al Baltat
Age unknown killed
Qassem al Baltat
Age unknown killed

The victims were named as:

Alloush al Kallah
Age unknown killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (2 children1 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 (3) [ 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
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Shanina, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SEV086849
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jan 25, 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

For May 9th-10th: “Near Raqqah, Syria, 10 strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units; destroyed nine fighting positions, a VBIED factory, an ISIS headquarters; damaged a bridge, a road; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.”

For May 10th - 11th: "Near Raqqah, 11 strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units; destroyed seven vehicles, three fighting positions, an ISIS barge, a VBIED factory, a weapons storage facility; and damaged two ISIS supply routes"

For May 11th: From CJTFOIR on May 11th:

‘SAC and SDF Liberate Tabqah

SOUTHWEST ASIA – The Syrian Arab Coalition and their Syrian Democratic Force partners completed the liberation of the Tabqah Dam, as well as the city of Tabqah and its nearby airfield May 10.

The multi-ethnic SDF forced the surrender of Tabqah Dam and the remainder of Tabqah City, continuing the trend of ISIS’s diminished control of territory and people. The SDF has now further isolated ISIS in Raqqah, the terror group’s stronghold, and will continue to pursue the military defeat of ISIS throughout Syria.

“This is yet another victory by the SAC and the SDF, our most committed and capable ground force partners in the fight against ISIS who remain hard at work erasing ISIS from the battlefield, liberating their own people and lands,” said the Coalition Spokesman, Col. John Dorrian.

In Tabqah, the SDF’s increased pressure on ISIS from each flank allowed it to accelerate the pace of the fight, clear the final neighborhoods of the city, and isolate Tabqah Dam. Approximately 70 ISIS fighters conceded to the SDF’s terms, which included the dismantling of IEDs surrounding the dam, the surrender of all ISIS heavy weapons, and the forced withdrawal of all remaining fighters from Tabqah City.

The SDF accepted ISIS’s surrender of the city to protect innocent civilians and to protect the Tabqah dam infrastructure which hundreds of thousands of Syrians rely on for water, agriculture, and electricity.

The Coalition tracked fleeing fighters and targeted those that could be safely hit without harming civilians.

The SAC and SDF liberation of the ISIS stronghold of Tabqah, an operation that began March 22 with a surprise aerial infiltration behind enemy lines to the south of Lake Assad, severs ISIS’s ability to reinforce Raqqah and denies ISIS a key coordination hub that its foreign terrorist fighters used since 2013 to plan local operations and external attacks against the West.

With its seizure, the coalition has prevented a potential humanitarian disaster and ensured local citizens will continue to receive the dam’s basic services.

After ISIS’s defeat in northern Syria, ISIS moved its foreign fighters and external attack planning operations to Tabqah in order to avoid coalition airstrikes within Raqqah. The operation to seize the Tabqah dam, airfield and city disrupts ISIS operations in Raqqah and their ability to defend the city and plan and execute external attacks against the West.

With Tabqah now liberated and Raqqah further isolated, the Coalition and its partner forces continue to hinder ISIS’s ability to reinforce its self-proclaimed capital in Raqqah, prevented a potential humanitarian disaster, and ensured local citizens will continue to receive the dam’s basic services.

“The SDF’s success against ISIS demonstrates the power of working by, with and through local partner forces fighting ISIS, among their own people, in their own territory” said Dorrian. “The SDF, fighting to liberate their own people and lands, have freed more than 8,000 square kilometers of Syria from ISIS since November.”

The Coalition later reported: "Additionally, 13 strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on May 10th that closed within the last 24 hours. Near Raqqah, Syria, seven strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units and destroyed 12 fighting positions, an ISIS headquarters, a command and control node, a supply cache, an ISIS staging area, a tactical vehicle, and a vehicle"

UK Military
  • English
    /
    Original

‘Wednesday 10 May – Typhoons struck a terrorist mortar team north of Raqqa, Syria, while Tornados attacked a sniper team and another Daesh position in Mosul…The following day [May 10th], Typhoons also patrolled over Syria, and successfully struck a Daesh mortar team that was firing on Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) some five miles north of Raqqa. Tornados also operated over western Mosul, where they used a Brimstone missile to silence a sniper team which had opened fire on Iraqi troops, and used a Paveway IV against a Daesh-held building.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (2 children1 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 (3) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS821

Incident date

May 14, 2017

Location

البوكمال, Abu Kamal, Deir ez-Zor, Syria

Geolocation

34.466049, 40.907593 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One child was reportedly injured in an alleged Coalition airstrike targeting ISIL fighters in the “Old Corniche” area in the city of Abu Kamal, according to local sources.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • 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 (9) [ 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
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Abu Kamal, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SFU762139
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jan 25, 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

For May 12th- 13th the Coalition reported: “Near Raqqah, five strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, a front-end loader, an ISIS crane, and a house-born improvised explosive device.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • 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 (9) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS841

Incident date

May 19, 2017

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

Three civilians died in an alleged Coalition airstrike on Raqqa, according to local sources.

Three victims from Palmyra, said to have been killed in a Coalition strike, were named by the Violations Documentation Center.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Hosain Abd al-Halim al-Qasem “al-Shabraq”
Adult male In the comment section of Revo.Palmyra people claimed he used to be informant for the regime, and later for IS. Others claimed he was mentally disabled. killed
Mohammad Walid Othman “al-Wajeeh”
Adult killed
Mohammad Yaser Othman “al-Wajeeh”
Adult male killed

Summary

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

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • Mohamed Waleed Osman, killed in an alleged Coalition raid on Raqqa, May 19th (via Revo.Palmyra)
  • Mohammed Yasser, killed in an alleged Coalition raid on Raqqa, May 19th (via Revo.Palmyra)
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 Raqqah, Syria
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jan 25, 2018
  • The report contains insufficient information of the time location and details to assess its credibility.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For May 18th-19th: “Near Raqqah, eight strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed four fighting positions, two tunnels, two VBIED facilities, a mortar system, a vehicle, a supply cache, an ISIS headquarters, a weapons cache, and a tactical vehicle; and damaged three fighting positions.” It was additionally reported that on May 18th “Near Raqqah, Syria, two strikes destroyed an ISIS headquarters, an ISIS-held building and an ISIS recruiting station.”
For May 19th-20th: "Near Raqqah, three strikes [1 British?] engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions and a heavy machine gun."

UK Military
  • English
    /
    Original

"Friday 19 May – Tornados struck seven Daesh targets in Mosul, whilst Typhoons bombed a group of extremists east of Raqqah…The following day [May 19th] , Tornados provided further support to the Iraqi ground forces, despite very challenging conditions as a dust storm raged. Again, a mixture of Brimstones and Paveway IVs were used to engage seven Daesh positions within the city, including a sniper team and a mortar, despite the Iraqi forces being extremely close to the targets on occasion. In Syria, Typhoons supported the SDF and bombed a group of terrorists caught in the open a few miles to the east of Raqqah."

Summary

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

Incident Code

CS864

Incident date

May 26, 2017

Location

ميادين, Al Mayadin, Deir ez-Zor, Syria

Geolocation

35.016667, 40.444167 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Up to 12 civilians died in a fresh round of Coalition airstrikes on Al Mayadeen, according to local sources.

Euphrates Post reported that “the warplanes launched five air strikes at approximately 2 am today [May 26th], a time difference of nearly three hours from the first raids that left three martyrs and a number of wounded on the city of Mayadeen.” It said that the raids were distributed “on the vicinity of the roundabout near the party building and Street Forty, the vicinity of the Saraya and the vicinity of the Nuri Said hospital – the same site targeted by the first raids”. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the airstrikes

Other locations of the strikes were named by Euphrates Post as:

Al-Arbaeen Street from the Agricultural Bank

The park near the party square

The vicinity of the water tunnel

Syria News Desk put the death toll at five civilians three of them children, with 22 more injured, adding that strikes were on residential sites.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights “warplanes of the International Coalition renewed their bombing on Al-Mayadin city around 1:30 am Friday”. It put the number killed at 12, including five children and five women.

@YAlsarout2 put the death toll at 14, however – also pointing to the Coalition – said that as many as 14 non-combatants were killed.

@affairsyrian said that 35 died, though it was unclear whether this was on the 26th or across the 25th too.

Aletihadpress reported that in two days of air strikes on Al Mayadeen, 50 civilians died – but according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, this latest round of strikes brought the number killed to 106, of which 42 were children.

 

The incident occured at 01:30:00 local time.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    5 – 12
  • (1–5 children1–4 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–24
  • 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 (19) [ 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
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Al Maydin, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SFU324762
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jan 25, 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

For May 25th-26th, the Coalition reported: “Near Dayr Az Zawr, five strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed seven ISIS oil trucks, four ISIS barges, an ISIS well head, a command and control node, and an ISIS headquarters.“
For May 26th-27th, the Coalition reported: "Near Dayr Az Zawr, four strikes destroyed four ISIS well heads and destroyed an ISIS boat." For May 26th it added that "Near Dayr Az Zawr, Syria, one strike destroyed 10 ISIS oil separators and an ISIS well head."

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    5 – 12
  • (1–5 children1–4 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–24
  • 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 (19) [ collapse]