US-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria

US-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria

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

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Incident Code

CS758

Incident date

May 1, 2017

Location

الرقة‎, Al Rumaila and Al Idkhar, Ar Raqqah, Syria

Geolocation

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

Airwars assessment

Smart reported that “according to local sources, warplanes likely belonging to the International Alliance targeted the neighborhood of Rumaila, killing four civilians and wounding others and destroying a car belonging to ISIL.”

Al Araby also blamed the Coalition and put the death toll at four, though appeared to be citing from Smart.

No additional details are presently known.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • Civilians reported injured
    1–2
  • 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
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Al Rumaila and Al Idkhar, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SEV027801
    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
Official source

For April 30th-May 1st 2017, the Coalition reported: “Near Raqqah, two strikes destroyed four ISIS barges and an ISIS weapons facility.”
For May 1st -2nd: “Near Raqqah; one strike destroyed a fighting position and suppressed a mortar team.”

UK Military
  • English
    /
    Original
Official source

‘Sunday 30 April – Typhoons attacked a group of Daesh fighters west of Raqqa, while Tornados destroyed two Daesh buildings in Mosul…Sunday 30 April saw Typhoons once more flying in support of the SDF west of Raqqa, where they struck a group of Daesh fighters along the bank of the Euphrates. The Tornados then flew over Mosul, demolishing two Daesh-held buildings which the Iraqi ground forces had encountered.’

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • Civilians reported injured
    1–2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (2) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI693

Incident date

May 7, 2017

Location

الشلالات, Mosul, Shalalat, Nineveh, Iraq

Airwars assessment

Residents and local media sources said that 34 civilians were killed and 77 (numbers reportedly mentioned by ISIL press agency) wounded after Coalition airstrikes and shelling by Iraqi government forces hit many neighbourhoods in West Mosul.

@sh0_news said in a tweet that “more than 130 martyred civilians are the result of the bombing of the Coalition on Mosul # Today”. This appears to be an inflated compound of dead and injured figures.

An unknown source told Yaqein that Iraqi and US artillery shelling had hit several neighbourhoods in West Mosul since 7am that day, including Shalalat.

Further details are presently unknown.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    34
  • Civilians reported injured
    77
  • 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 (5) [ 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 Mosul, Iraq
    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
Official source

For May 6th-7th the Coalition reported: “Near Mosul, five strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units and a sniper team; destroyed three VBIED factories, three tactical vehicles, two fighting positions, two medium machine guns, two VBIEDs, a mortar system, an anti-air artillery system, a VBIED facility, a rocket-propelled grenade system, a VBIED staging area; and damaged four fighting positions and four ISIS supply routes.”

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
    34
  • Civilians reported injured
    77
  • 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 (5) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS799

Incident date

May 11, 2017

Location

بئر الهشم, Bir Al Hashem, Ar Raqqah, Syria

Geolocation

36.002222, 38.8875 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between 12 and 18 civilians including eight children and four women – reportedly from the same family – died and dozens more were injured in an Coalition airstrike on the Al Hashem area north of Raqqa city, local media reported.

Euphrates Post said that 12 non-combatants were killed in the Coalition strike, most of whom were displaced from Raqqa’s Al Mashlab neighbourhood. The Syrian Network for Human Rights put the number killed at 13 including eight children and four women, saying that the Coalition was responsible.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the death toll rose to 15, of which there were five children and women. Again, the source blamed Coalition jets.

Ahmad al Shibli reported “a coalition massacre in raid on a home in Bi’r al Hashem”.

Al Ragga Truth reported that 15 members of the al Hamoud family died in the strike.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (4)

Othman al Ahmad al Hamoud
Age unknown male killed
Zakiya al Othman
Age unknown female killed
Mozer Othman al Hamoud
Age unknown male killed
Amira Othman al Hamoud
Age unknown female killed

Family members (3)

Marya Hadi
Age unknown female killed
A son of Marya Hadi
Age unknown male killed
A second son of Marya Hadi
Age unknown male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    12 – 18
  • (8 children4 women2 men)
  • 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 (29) [ 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 Raqqah, Syria
    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. The closest strike to the report of possible civilian casualties was 5 km away

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For May 10th-11th, the Coalition reported: “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.” It later added that “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.”
For May 11th-12th. “Near Raqqah, eight strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions, three VBIEDs, two ISIS oil storage tanks, two ISIS oil stills, two excavators, a front-end loader, an IED, and an ISIS staging area.” It later added that “Additionally, six strikes were conducted in Syria on May 11th that closed within the last 24 hours…. Near Raqqah, five strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed two VBIEDs, a fighting position, a weapons cache, a vehicle; and damaged two ISIS supply routes and a bridge.”

UK Military
  • English
    /
    Original
Official source

‘Thursday 11 May – Typhoons attacked three targets in eastern Syria, as well as a truck-bomb factory north-west of Raqqa. Tornados also struck six times in Mosul…On Thursday 11 May, a pair of Typhoons, armed with Paveway IVs, destroyed a truck-bomb staging area some fifteen miles north-west of Raqqa, while another pair supported the SDF in eastern Syria, hitting a mortar team and two Daesh-held buildings near Al Ulwah. The same day, two flights of Tornados patrolled over Mosul, using Brimstone missiles against two Daesh positions very close to Iraqi troops. A further Paveway IV eliminated a mortar in a courtyard, and three more Paveways cratered roads along which Daesh might have tried to move truck-bombs along.’

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    12 – 18
  • (8 children4 women2 men)
  • 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 (29) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI728

Incident date

May 22, 2017

Location

حي النجار, Mosul, Al-Najjar, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.3592367, 43.0998802 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Sources said that an entire family was killed after airstrikes had hit their house in Najjar neighbourhood, in West Mosul.

At the time of the attack Sawlf Ateka – a local Facebook group – called for help in a post: “The bombing of the house of Fayez Nazem Mohammed Anis Shandala since yesterday in the neighborhood of Najjar. No one survived except one woman and the rest are still under the rubble. And the names of their children [are] Ahmed and Ali, and the student in the Faculty of Medicine – Ala – and their grandmother Naima Saadullah Ahmed. [The] address of the house: after going down from Mosul Hotel, the first street on the right.”

Mosul Urgent News, another local Facebook page, posted six photos from Najjar neighbourhood that pictured the destruction. It did not say who was responsible.

Two weeks after the fatal incident, the Ninawa media centre reported that some of the bodies had not been found at the house and asked for information. “The bodies of four people were not found in the house during the shelling. They were Fayez Nazem and his sons Ahmad and Ali and his daughter Alaa Faiz. Please feel free to contact us at 07513619341.” @zyaad_alsenjary equally reported on Twitter that they bodies had not been found yet. He blamed the Coalition for the strikes.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (5)

Fayez Nazem Mohammed Anis Shandala
Adult male Father killed
Ahmed
Child male Son killed
Ali
Adult male Son killed
Ala
Adult female Daughter, medicine student killed
Naima Saadullah Ahmed
Adult female Grandmother killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    5
  • (2 women)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition
  • Known target
    ISIS

Sources (4) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • Scenes of destruction in Mosul's Najjar neighbourhood (via Mosul Urgent news)
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.
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For May 21st-22nd, the Coalition reported: “Near Mosul, three strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and a sniper; destroyed 18 fighting positions, nine medium machine guns, six VBIEDs, four rocket systems, three rocket-propelled grenade systems, three heavy machine guns, a command and control node, a vehicle, a supply cache, a mortar system, and a tunnel; damaged 15 ISIS supply roads, a fighting position; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.”

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    5
  • (2 women)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Suspected attacker
    US-led Coalition
  • Known target
    ISIS

Sources (4) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS845

Incident date

May 21, 2017

Location

الرويح, Al Ruweih, Al Hasakah, Syria

Geolocation

35.94987, 40.90735 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Four civilians, including two women, were killed and at least three more were injured in alleged Coalition airstrikes in Al Ruweih village, which lies in the countryside near Al Shadadi city, local media said.

A number of local sources named three victims of the Al Alewi al Abd Family. A fourth member of the al Alewi al Abd family was not identified.

All sources that reported the incident alleged that the Coalition was responsible.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (3)

Barak al Alewi al Abd
Adult male killed
Wadha al Jaban
Adult female Barak’s wife killed
Samira al Alewi al Abd
Age unknown female killed

The victims were named as:

Sabbouha al Alewi
Age unknown injured
Nawja al Mohammed
Age unknown injured
wife of Hneidi al Alewi
Adult female injured

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3–4
  • 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 (12) [ 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 evidence of civilian harm
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near al Ruwieh, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SFV720800
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jun 28, 2018

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

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For May 20th-21st, the Coalition reported that: “Near al Hawl, one strike destroyed seven fighting positions and a mortar site.”
For May 21st-22nd, the Coalition did not report any airstrikes near Hassakah.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3–4
  • 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 (12) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI735

Incident date

May 27, 2017

Location

حي الزنجيلي, Mosul, Zanjili, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.3502851, 43.1098795 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Local sources reported that ten civilians were killed, among whom an entire family, after heavy shelling in Zanjili neighborhood in West Mosul.

Iraqi Spring Media Center said it was the work of the Iraqi government, while Yaqein Agency did not say who was responsible.

Presently no further details are known.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    10
  • 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 (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
    Other
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Zanjili neighborhood of Mosul, Iraq
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jan 25, 2018

  • After a review of available information it was assessed that a Coalition strike did not cause civilian casualties.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For May 26th-27th the Coalition publicly reported: “Near Mosul, two strikes destroyed a VBIED and damaged 19 ISIS supply routes.”

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
    10
  • 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 (2) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI741

Incident date

May 31, 2017

Location

حي الزنجيلي, Mosul, Zanjili and Shifa, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.3502851, 43.1098795 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Local sources reported that more than twenty civilians were killed or injured after air strikes and artillery shelling hit their homes in Zanjili and Shifa neighborhood, in West Mosul. So far all sources blamed Joint Forces – a reference to both Iraqi and Coalition actions.

A source had told Alaraby news that “the Iraqi forces tried to advance into the neighborhood of Shifa in West Mosul, but failed to do so.” He suggested the shelling with airstrikes and artillery was part of an attempt to force ISIL to leave the areas next to the sites where the Iraqi forces are presently in.

The same local source said that the bombing had led to the collapse of the houses of these civilians – and left twenty killed or wounded.

Omar Al Halbusi put the death toll even higher in a post on Facebook and said 36 civilians had died in Zanjili neighbourhood alone.

A UN report on the protection of civilians in context of Nineveh operations and the retaking of Mosul stated: “On 31 May, an airstrike targeting an ISIL compound hit several civilian houses around al-Nasi Street in ISIL-controlled Zanjilly neighbourhood, western Mosul. The airstrike reportedly killed 84 civilians, including 31 women and 27 children, and wounded 103 others, including 49 women and 34 children.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    20 – 84
  • (27 children31 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–103
  • 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 (5) [ 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 Mosul, Iraq
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    38SLF308246
    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
Official source

For May 30th-31st: “Near Mosul, four strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed two mortar systems, two ISIS staging areas, a vehicle, a VBIED, and a fighting position; and damaged nine ISIS supply routes, two fighting positions, and a command and control node.”

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 – 84
  • (27 children31 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–103
  • 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 (5) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS922

Incident date

June 5, 2017

Location

البو عاصي, Al Bu A'ssi, Ar Raqqah, Syria

Geolocation

35.78392, 38.32796 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Two adult male civilians died in an airstrike on Al Bu A’ssi village, according to local media.

Two sources – Baladi and Mohab Nasser – pointed directly at the Coalition, reporting that two non-combatants died in an alleged Coalition raid near a refugee camp. Other sources referred to “warplane raids”, but didn’t identify the culprit.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Ahmad al Alewi al Issa al Shahhada
40 years old male killed
Yassin Ahmad al Yassef
49 years old male killed

Summary

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

  • Yassin Ahmad al Yassef, 49 years old, killed in an alleged Coalition airstrike on Al Bu A'ssi, 5th June 2017. (via Ahmad al Shibli)
  • Ahmad al Alewi al Issa al Shahhada 40 years old, killed in an alleged Coalition airstrike on Al Bu A'ssi, 5th June 2017. (via Ahmad al Shibli)
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 Tabqah, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    1 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SDV3926860193
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Aug 4, 2017

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

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For June 5th-6th: “Near Raqqah, 24 strikes engaged 18 ISIS tactical units; destroyed 19 boats, 12 fighting positions, eight vehicles, a house rigged with explosives, and a weapons storage facility; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.” It additionaly noted for June 5th that “Near Raqqah, Syria, seven strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two ISIS staging areas, two fighting positions, a VBIED factory, an ISIS tunnel, an ISIS sentry post, a vehicle, and a command and control node.” And that “On June 5, near Raqqah, Syria, four strikes destroyed an IED factory, an ISIS headquarters, an ISIS financial center, and an ISIS staging area.”

UK Military
  • English
    /
    Original
Official source

Monday 5 June – Typhoons struck a Daesh-held building in eastern Raqqa, whilst Tornados hit two terrorist firing points in a building in Mosul…On Monday 5 June, two Typhoons, supporting Syrian Democratic Forces close to Raqqa, used a Paveway IV to strike a Daesh-held building in the east of the city itself.

Media
from belligerent (1) [ collapse]

  • The @RoyalAirForce is continuing to strike Daesh in Iraq and Syria. (via Ministry of Defence)

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (2 men)
  • 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]