Geolocation
Airwars assessment
A field investigation by Amnesty International found that a number of civilians were injured or possibly killed in an air or ground attack on the 60th Street area of Msherfa in West Mosul.
The following Amnesty field report citing an eyewitness was shared with Airwars: “My family and I were staying at my aunt’s house in Msharrafa. We were there, in the house, waiting for liberation. The house had only one main room. It was on 60th street, near the main gas station. The ISF finally came to our neighbourhood on 3 May. When they came, I put my phone around my neck in a small pouch. I did this on purpose – I thought they might hit our house, so I wanted to be ready to call for help.
The house was hit on Thursday, 4 May, at 6pm. [Didn’t know what type of weapon was used or whether it was ground or air.] I was taking a nap when it hit on bed in the corner of the room, so I did not hear any sound, but it felt like something grabbed me, lifted me up, and then released me.
I did not faint, but I was shocked. I realized that I was on my back, and the roof had fallen in on the house. A window frame was resting on my chest, pinning me to the floor, and my leg was buried in the rubble. Thankfully the phone was also on my chest, very close to my neck, and I could pull it out from the pouch and call for help. I had the number for someone from the ISF and he told the others where I was.
On the second day, I was waiting for them to come, and my leg was still stuck in the rubble. The pressure was too strong, so I pulled it out myself.
I thought I would never make it out, but I didn’t give up on God. I was always asking for God’s help when I was there. I stayed calm, and I was singing verses from the Qaran to stay focused. I was just thinking about my family and hoping that they had survived. They all escaped from the house after the attack, and they assumed I had died.
The army pulled me out of the rubble on Saturday, around 3pm. They put me in a military vehicle, and took me to Baadush. There, an American medical team stabilized my leg. Then they transferred me to xxxx Hospital.
Now, I don’t know whether my two brothers are alive or dead. Some people tell me they are on the eastern side in the hospital, others say they are in the rubble. My mother is in the burn ward in this hospital, and my father is in the neurological section. My aunt, her husband, and her daughter survived the attack, and hopefully my two brothers are ok. My kneecap is broken, and I have many fractures in my leg.”
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Summary
Sources (1) [ collapse]
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.
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
-
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
For May 3rd-4th the Coalition reported: “Near Mosul, five strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and a sniper team; destroyed four rocket-propelled grenade systems, four medium machine guns, two ISIS staging areas, an artillery system, a supply cache, a VBIED, a mortar system and a fighting position.”