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

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
Official source

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

CI201

Incident date

March 15, 2016

Location

باب لكش, Mosul, Bab Laksh, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.339738, 43.132406 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Local sources said at least four and as many as 13 civilians were killed and 25 injured including children and women after alliance jets struck residential apartments used by displaced people in the Alaymen district of eastern Mosul.

The National Iraqi News Agency reported: “residents said that international coalition aircraft bombed a residential compound belonging to the families of Mosul people which resulted in the deaths of 13 civilians, including three children and five women and wounding three women.“

In what may be the same or a separate Mosul incident that day, NRN News and the Islamic State-linked Al A’amaq reported four or five civilian deaths, after aircraft were said to have targeted the Gulf Commercial Bank in the Dara Lakshman area. Five civilians were also said to have been injured, while four Daesh fighters reportedly died.

In their February 2020 civilian casualty report, the US-led Coalition assessed reports that they were responsible for civilian harm in this strike as “non-credible”, stating that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area at that time.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4 – 18
  • (3 children5 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    5–30
  • 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 (5) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • NRN news identifies the sites of two alleged Coalition airstrikes on Mosul which reportedly killed civilians march 15th

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
  • MGRS coordinate
    38SLF323232
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Feb 2, 2020

  • March 15, 2016, in Bab Laksh, Iraq, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties. 2914/CI201 38SLF323232

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For March 14th-15th 2016 the Coalition reported that “Near Mosul, four strikes [1 French] struck an ISIL training camp and two ISIL improvised explosive device factories and destroyed four ISIL assembly areas.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4 – 18
  • (3 children5 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    5–30
  • 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 (5) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI615

Incident date

April 6, 2017

Location

الموصل: الزنجيلي, Mosul, Al-Zinjili, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.350932, 43.111449 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Local sources said that a mother and her two children were killed in an airstrike on her house in Zanjili neighbourhood, in West Mosul. Mosul Eye blamed the Coalition for the strike. Other sources did not report who was responsible.

See News (Facebook) put the death toll at 13, possibly also referring to other incidents in North Mosul. Journalists Around the World reported that at least 18 died in airstrikes and artillery shelling in West Mosul neighbourhoods that day.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 18
  • (2 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    0–60
  • 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, Unknown

Sources (3) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • The location of an airstrike that allegedly killed a mother and her two children (via Mosul Eye Facebook)
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
  • 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

For April 5th-6th: “Near Mosul, six strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed five mortar systems, three VBIED factories, three ISIS-held buildings, two anti-air artillery systems, two supply caches, a tactical vehicle, a vehicle, and a weapons facility; damaged nine supply routes, and suppressed six ISIS mortar teams.”

Unknown Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Unknown
  • Unknown position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 18
  • (2 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    0–60
  • 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, Unknown

Sources (3) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI770

Incident date

June 18, 2017

Location

المشاهدة, Mosul, Meshada, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.344722, 43.121111 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A field report by PBS Newshour found that 12 civilians – all members of one family – had died in a likely Coalition airstrike on Meshada.

In August 2019 the Coalition announced that they had assessed this allegation of civilian to be non-credible. Their monthly civilian casualty report noted: “After a review of all available records it was determined that, more likely than not, civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition action.”

The following is a transcript of the PBS report:

“JUDY WOODRUFF: One week ago, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi proclaimed victory over ISIS in Mosul. But reality on the ground is different, as the fight continues in parts of the Old City against ISIS holdouts. As special correspondent Marcia Biggs and videographer Alessandro Pavone report, the human toll of the fighting is becoming apparent. And it is horrific. A warning: Many viewers may find images and accounts in this story disturbing.

MARCIA BIGGS: This is what so-called liberated Mosul looks and sounds like, in a small pocket of the Old City, the war against ISIS seemingly ongoing. And this is the Old City from ground level, a scene of utter devastation, entire neighborhoods flattened by coalition airstrikes, leaving the few survivors to search for the remains of their loved ones. Bashar and Ali’s families were together in this house hit by an airstrike 28 days ago. Ali names the dead one by one.

ALI, Mosul Resident (through interpreter): My mother, three brothers, three sisters, my father, two sisters-in-law, two nieces.

MARCIA BIGGS: And you’re the only one left from your family.

ALI (through interpreter): Yes.

MARCIA BIGGS: Shu Bedak Tamel, what are you going to do now?

MAN (through interpreter): What can I do? I just want to take the bodies out and bury them.

MARCIA BIGGS: Mosul is the capital of Nineveh Province and it is the men of Nineveh’s civil defense unit that are responsible for pulling the dead out of the rubble.

They arrive with their crude tools, an ancient jackhammer, a broken sledgehammer, and when all else fails, they use their hands. One of the family members is adamant that the family is under this spot in a washroom. “Just open the hole,” this family member says. But trying to drill through over a foot of concrete proves impossible and one of the relatives finds another way into the house. So we enter the ruins in the dark.

So this was the washroom they were talking about. He’s saying there’s a baby inside.

In total, they are looking for 18 bodies. There were two families in the adjoining houses that night. Bashar lost six members of his family, including his wife and four children.

BASHAR, Mosul Resident (through interpreter): We tried to escape the day before, but ISIS shot at us. We ran back to the house and the army told us, stay inside. We will evacuate you when we make the area safe.

But the next morning, the airstrike hit our house. There were two bombs.

MARCIA BIGGS: Were you in the house when the explosion happened?

BASHAR (through interpreter): Yes, but I was near the front door of this house. I was the only one who didn’t get injured, along with my neighbor’s family. And my youngest daughter was rescued by the army. She’s still alive.

MARCIA BIGGS: The remnants of life that night are frozen in time. Food sits uneaten on the kitchen counter, but the clock still runs. Hours pass, then finally a breakthrough. It’s a skull. So they’re telling me they have no idea who that little girl was. There were six or seven little girls in that room, and the body is so decomposed, all there is, is a skull. The search for remains lasts all day, with relatives waiting nervously. “God protect them,” this one says.

They found four bodies out of 18, 14 left to go. The smell of death is unbearable. For the members of Mosul’s civil defense, it’s an ordinary day. The day before, they pulled 19 bodies from the rubble. Rabih Mishaal Mohamed is a sergeant with the unit, all of whom are working without pay.

RABIH MISHAAL MOHAMED, Nineveh Civil Defense (through interpreter): The hardest part is when you see a child under the rubble because he is innocent, he is a child. He has nothing to do with the army or ISIS or anyone.

MARCIA BIGGS: Why do you do this?

RABIH MISHAAL MOHAMED (through interpreter): It is very difficult for us, but they are like family, our brothers our fathers, mothers, friends. If we don’t take their bodies out, who will come and do that? So we withstand it. We have to withstand it.

MARCIA BIGGS: Withstand it, they must. It’s a scene that will play out again and again in the days to come, a tiny sliver of comfort to the families, who are clinging to what little they can find.”

Coalition officials told Airwars that Iraqi strikes had ceased on the inner city by about this period, making this most likely a US strike.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    18
  • (7 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 (1) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • As family members look on, Mosul civil defence search for the bodies of 18 civilians killed in a likely Coalition airstrike June 18th 2017 (Image via PBS Newshour)
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
  • Stated location
    near Al Meshada neighborhood, Mosul, Iraq
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    38SLF314238
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Aug 29, 2019

  • Jun. 18, 2017, near Al Meshada neighborhood, Mosul, Iraq, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was determined that, more likely than not, civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition action.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For June 17th-18th, the Coalition reported: “Near Mosul, three strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed six fighting positions, a supply cache and an artillery system.” It was additionally reported that “On June 17, near Mosul, Iraq, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed 22 vehicles, two command and control nodes, a VBIED, and an artillery system; and damaged five ISIS supply routes.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    18
  • (7 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 (1) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI371

Incident date

December 13, 2016

Location

حي السكر, Mosul, Sukkar, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.3910949, 43.1676006 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

According to local sources, up to 17 people were killed as a result of airstrikes on their homes in the Sukkar (Sugar) district, Mosul. The bodies were pulled from the rubble on January 8th, 2017.

Airwars contacted the Canadian-based elder brother of the family, who provided 11 names, photos and ages of eleven victims. All of them were killed at 1.30pm in an airstrike on December 13th 2016.

Airwars later carried a detailed description of the event: Salam al Sultan, a Moslawi who now lives in Canada, told Airwars how eleven members of his family were killed in the early afternoon of December 13th by one such incident in east Mosul – after airstrikes tried to take out an ISIL sniper a few houses down. Their bodies could only be recovered from the rubble a month later.

Salam’s uncle, Ahmed Nather Mahmood, lived with his wife and two sons, Sehab and Amear and their families in al Sukur, a Mosul neighbourhood which has recently seen heavy fighting.

Sometime around 1 pm, a neighbour who had planned to flee the fighting arrived to see if the Mahmood family would leave with him. Fearful of the violence around them, Salam’s family had already packed to escape but told the neighbour to linger just a bit longer. He came to them and said let us leave. They said let us finish our lunch, and we will leave together, said Salam, speaking to Airwars by phone from Canada. The neighbour said no I’m leaving.

Minutes later, an airstrike obliterated the home. Salam, who had already lost one brother to an ISIS execution in 2015 and another to unknown assailants during violence in Mosul in 2008, now lost eleven more members of his family. They were going to leave… Hanan said even my luggage was ready; my bag was ready, he said, referring to a female cousin who survived the attack, but whose whereabouts are now unclear. They were just going to finish their lunch.

For a month the bodies of Salam’s uncle, aunt, his brothers and their dead children lay under the shattered remnants of their home. Only on January 14th were other family members and neighbours able to start retrieving their corpses. The stench was overpowering. Salam says his family was fearful of airstrikes but considered them more accurate prior to the operation to retake the city, and especially of late. The Iraqi government, he said, was behind schedule – and now moved quickly with massive firepower.

Only after the attack did those who survived to learn why the area may have been targeted: an ISIS sniper had apparently been spotted on a roof two houses down. If there is a sniper how come they don’t use a small machine gun from a plane, how come they have to use a big rocket to destroy three or four houses?

Hind Amir Ahmad, also a relative of the family, spoke with Amnesty International, who said the Coalition carried out the airstrike. She lost eleven relatives in the raids, including her parents, grandparents and four young siblings in the raids, said Amnesty International in a report. Hind had told Amnesty International that: “We were sleeping when the house literally collapsed on us. It was a miracle none of us was killed. We ran to my uncle’s house nearby. At about 2 pm that house too was bombed and collapsed on us… almost everyone in the house was killed – 11 people. My cousin, two aunts and I were the only ones who survived. Everyone else died. It took us six days to find only pieces of their bodies, which we buried in a mass grave in a field nearby… I don’t know why we were bombed. All I know is that I have lost everyone who was dearest to me.

The Coalition has requested additional details relating to this event.

The incident occured at 13:30:00 local time.

The victims were named as:

Family members (11)

Ali Ameer Ahmed
Child male Via family member killed
Malak Ameer Ahmed
Child female Via family member killed
Muhand Ameer Ahmed
Child male Via family member killed
Athir Ameer Ahmed
Adult male Via family member killed
Ekhlas Jiyad Mohamed
Adult female Via family member killed
Ameer Ahmed Nather
Adult male Via family member killed
Ali Shihab Ahmed
Child male Via family member killed
Ahlam Shihab Ahmed
Child female Via family member killed
Shihab Ahmed Nather
Adult male Via family member killed
Badryiah Saeed Ali
Adult female Via family member killed
Ahmed Nather Mahmood
Adult male Via family member killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    11 – 17
  • (4–5 children1–2 women4 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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]

Media
from sources (11) [ collapse]

  • A picture of Ali Shehab Ahmed, killed in alleged airstrikes targeted his house in the Sukkar (Sugar) district, Mosul (Via family member)
  • A picture of Badryiah Saeed Ali, killed in alleged airstrikes targeted her house in the Sukkar (Sugar) district, Mosul (Via family member)
  • A picture of Malak Amir Ahmed, killed in alleged airstrikes targeted her house in the Sukkar (Sugar) district, Mosul (Via family member)
  • A picture of Athir Ameer Ahmed, killed in alleged airstrike targeted his house in the Sukkar (Sugar) district, Mosul (Via family member)
  • A picture of Ameer Ahmed Nather, killed in alleged airstrike targeted his house in the Sukkar (Sugar) district, Mosul (Via family member)
  • A picture of Ali Ameer Ahmed, killed in alleged airstrikes targeted his house in the Sukkar (Sugar) district, Mosul (Via family member)
  • A picture of Shihab Ahmed Nather, killed in alleged airstrike targeted his house in the Sukkar (Sugar) district, Mosul (Via family member)
  • A picture of Ahmed Nather Mahmood, killed in alleged airstrike targeted his house in the Sukkar (Sugar) district, Mosul (Via family member)
  • A picture of Ahlam Shihab Ahmed, killed in alleged airstrike her house in the Sukkar (Sugar) district, Mosul (Via family member)
  • An image shows a destroyed house of Ahmed Nather Mahmood, where 11 family members died. Photograph courtesy of the family.
  • An image reveals the destruction following an alleged airstrike on houses in homes in the Sukkar (Sugar) district, Mosul (via newsofiraq3)

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention the neighbourhood of Sukkar (السكر) in the east of Mosul. The generic coordinates for this neighbourhood are: 36.3910949, 43.1676006. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

  • The neighbourhood of Sukkar (السكر) in the east of Mosul

    Imagery:
    © 2019 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
    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
  • Aug 4, 2017

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

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For December 12th-13th, the Coalition reported “Near Mosul, five strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units; destroyed four ISIL vehicles, four mortar systems, four ISIL-held buildings, three rocket-propelled grenades, two VBIED facilities, two frontend loaders, a tunnel, a land bridge, and a supply cache; damaged 13 supply routes, a tunnel and bridge; and suppressed three ISIL tactical units.”

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
    11 – 17
  • (4–5 children1–2 women4 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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

CS695

Incident date

April 15, 2017

Location

السكرية, Sukariya, Al Bukamal, Deir Ezzor, Syria

Geolocation

34.471667, 40.911111 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between six and 17 civilians died and dozens more were injured in an airstrike on Sukariya area, according to local media. While most sources blamed the Coalition, one alleged that the Iraqi air force was responsible.

@ALAMAWI and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights were among sources that reported the death of a family of eight displaced civilians from Aleppo. According to JisrTV, “Coalition aircraft bombed nine civilians from one family, most of them children and women.”

Aksalser put the death toll as high as 17 but didn’t identify the culprit.

However, Smart News Agency pointed towards Iraqi forces, reporting: “The aircraft was believed to belong to the Iraqi air force and bombed a house in Sukariya in the countryside of the city of Al Bukamal (130 km southeast of the city of Deir al Zour), last night, killing nine civilians, displaced from the city of Aleppo, mostly women and children”.

Syria News Desk reported that eight displaced civilians from Aleppo, all from the same family, died in a Coalition strike.

In what is likely to be the same event, Sharqiya reported the deaths of 10 IDPs from Aleppo though at Al Hamdan.

In its July 2017 civilian casualty report, the Coalition deemed this incident non-credible due to a lack of evidence that civilians were killed: “April 15, 2017, near Abu Kamal, Syria, via social media report: After review of available information and strike video 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.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6 – 17
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–24
  • 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 (28) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

The majority of sources refer to the Sukariya neighbourhood (السكرية), adjacent to Al Hamdan neighbourhood in Al Bukamal (البوكمال) city. The coordinates for the Sukariya neighbourhood (السكرية) are: 34.471667, 40.911111. 

  • Sukariya neighbourhood (السكرية) in Al Bukamal (البوكمال)

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 Sukariya, 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
Official source

For April 14th-15th, the Coalition reported: “Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike damaged an ISIS fuel facility.”

For April 15th-16th: the Coalition reported: “Near Abu Kamal, three strikes destroyed three ISIS well heads and ISIS engineering equipment.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6 – 17
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–24
  • 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 (28) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS951

Incident date

June 9, 2017

Location

السباهية, Western neighbourhoods, Ar Raqqah, Syria

Geolocation

35.947222, 38.991389 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Up to 17 civilians died in various neighbourhoods across Raqqa in either Coalition airstrikes or artillery shelling, local media reported.

According to Baladi, “Coalition aircraft launched several air raids on the city of Raqqa, including more than ten raids where the coalition used white phosphorus bombs, banned internationally, for the second day in a row. Local media sources reported the occurrence of martyrs and wounded civilians by shelling.”

Sharqiya Voice reported that there had been “15 deaths and a number of civilians wounded – most of them women and children – following coalition raids in conjunction with YPG artillery in al Sabahiya area west of Raqqa.” However, the Coalition confirmed to Airwars that only the US was using artillery on the city.

Smart, also blaming the Coalition, put the death toll at 17. Al Raqqa Truth published a video by IS media agency A’maq reportedly showing American raids using white phosphorous.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Abd Al Ilah Haj Abbo.
Age unknown male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    15 – 17
  • 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 (7) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • Abd Al Ilah Haj Abbo, victim of the alleged Coalition airstrikes targeting al Sabahiya neighborhood (via Ahmad al Shibli Twitter)
  • This photo reportedly shows Phosphorus bombs targeting the al-Sabahia, Raqqa on either June 8th or 9th, allegedly carried out by the Coalition (via RFS)
  • This photo reportedly shows Phosphorus bombs targeting the al-Sabahia, Raqqa on either June 8th or 9th, allegedly carried out by the Coalition (via RFS)
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
Official source

For June 9th-10th: “Near Raqqah, 20 strikes engaged 12 ISIS tactical units; destroyed seven fighting positions, four vehicles, three ISIS headquarters, a VBIED, and an ISIS-held building; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.” It additionally added that “On June 9, near Raqqah, Syria, nine strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions, two VBIEDs, two weapons caches, and an ISIS staging area.”

UK Military
  • English
    /
    Original
Official source

Friday 9 June – Tornados struck a Daesh position in eastern Raqqa…On Friday 9 June, Tornados struck a Daesh position in eastern Raqqa.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    15 – 17
  • 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 (7) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS1327

Incident date

August 4, 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

Up to 17 civilians including women and children died and 10 more were wounded in alleged Coalition airstrikes on Raqqa, according to local media.

Most sources put the death toll at six with 10 more injured and blamed a “US bombing” of Raqqa neighbourhoods.

However, on August 5th the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights “documented the death of at least 10 persons including 2 children and 1 citizen woman. They were killed in the past 24 hours” – but some caution is required as this could be a general number and not specific to just this event.

A report by the Syrian Network for Human Rights put the death toll at 17, “including 7 children and 5 women, IDPs from al Bab city in Aleppo”, and said that they died when Coalition missiles struck a residential building.

The incident was first reported on August 4, 2017 at 8:33 pm by @AbuMuaazalRaqqah.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6 – 17
  • (2–7 children1–5 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    10
  • 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 (13) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident only mention the city of Raqqa (الرقة), for which the coordinates are: 35.9505639, 39.0094148. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further      

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
  • May 31, 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 August 4th-5th the Coalition reported that “On Aug. 4, near Raqqah, 11 strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units and destroyed seven fighting positions, a staging area, and a tunnel..” It also stated that “On Aug. 4, near Raqqah, Syria, four strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed five fighting positions; and damaged a fighting position.”

UK Military
  • English
    /
    Original
Official source

‘Friday 4 August – Typhoons struck an ammunition factory and three sniper positions in Raqqa…An improvised ammunition factory had been identified in a large single-storey building in Raqqa, and this was struck with two Paveway IVs from Typhoons on Friday 4 August. The Typhoons then conducted two further strikes with Paveways against sniper positions, while a second Typhoon flight dealt with a third sniper team.’

Media
from belligerent (1) [ collapse]

  • For August 3rd-9th, France report 1 strike in Iraq and 1 in Syria, along with 9 artillery strikes in Mosul. (via EtatMajorFR)

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6 – 17
  • (2–7 children1–5 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    10
  • 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 (13) [ collapse]