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 date

May 21, 2015

Incident Code

CI068

LOCATION

الموصل‎, Mosul, near Bahauddin mosque, Nineveh, Iraq

Summary: A devastating airstrike on the Mosul neighbourhood of Rifai reportedly killed numerous non-combatants and injured up to 150 people. Among those killed in the event was Ayman al Hayali (who ran a clothing shop) and his family, including his wife and young son. Other sources claimed that 5 women and at least 3 children

Summary

First published
May 21, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
12 – 50
(2–3 children1–5 women1 man)
Civilians reported injured
30–150
Airwars civilian harm grading
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
Named victims
2 named
View Incident

Incident date

May 20, 2015

Incident Code

CS069

LOCATION

التوامة, Tawama, Aleppo, Syria

According to Al Jazeera and others, a Coalition strike on the al Nusra Front at al Tawama destroyed a number of civilian buildings, killing as many as seven inhabitants. Fifteen alleged militants – most described as ‘Turks’ – also died in the attack which reportedly struck two separate locations in the village. According to Sana

Summary

First published
May 20, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
1 – 11
(1 child)
Airwars civilian harm grading
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
Named victims
1 named
View Incident

Incident date

May 19, 2015

Incident Code

CS068

LOCATION

تل مجدل, Tal Majdal, Al Hassakah, Syria

An alleged 10am Coalition targeted strike on a vehicle carrying ISIL militants (including prominent Egyptian Abu Abdul Rahman) also killed three nearby civilians, according to SN4HR. However another source described the attack as being carried out by a booby-trapped motorbike. One victim was identified as the owner of a generator repair shop in the marketplace where

Summary

First published
May 19, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
3
(2–3 men)
Civilians reported injured
15
Airwars civilian harm grading
Contested
Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
Suspected belligerents
US-led Coalition, Unknown
Named victims
2 named
View Incident

Incident date

May 13, 2015

Incident Code

CI067

LOCATION

بيجي‎, Masahag, Salah Al Din, Iraq

Six members of one family were reported killed when a Coalition drone allegedly struck a vehicle distributing oil products to local people. Responding to questions from Airwars, an MoD spokesman said that no British Reaper drone strike took place in the vicinity of al Masahag on that date. Bayji’s Mayor, Mohamed Mahmoud said in an

Summary

First published
May 13, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
6
Airwars civilian harm grading
Confirmed
A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
Known belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

May 8, 2015

Incident Code

CS067

LOCATION

تل مجدل, Tal Majdal, Al Hassakah, Syria

A 10 year old boy from the village of Tal Majdal, was reported killed at around noon in a Coalition airstrike according to a number of sources, after being hit by shrapnel. In February 2019, the Coalition assessed this event as non-credible. Their report noted: “After review of all available strike records it was determined

Summary

First published
May 8, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
1
(1 child)
Airwars civilian harm grading
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
Named victims
1 named
View Incident

Incident date

May 6, 2015

Incident Code

CS066

LOCATION

الغرة, Al-Gharah, Al Hassakah, Syria

A 65-year old man was killed in an alleged Coalition strike according to two separate investigations by international news organisations. According to his son Ahmed, Mr Hassan was walking to work in his village when shrapnel from a Coalition strike punctured his heart and leg and killed him: “He didn’t support any group,” Hassan told

Summary

First published
May 6, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
1
(1 man)
Airwars civilian harm grading
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
Named victims
1 named
View Incident

Incident date

April 30, 2015

Incident Code

CS065

LOCATION

بئر محلي, Jubb Mahli (Ber Mahli), Aleppo, Syria

In one of the worst reported incidents in nine months of bombings by the US-led Ccoalition, 64 civilians were said to have died in an attack on the village of Ber Mahli near Sareen – the majority of them women (19) and children (32). It remains disputed as to whether the village was partly or

Summary

First published
April 30, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
64
(32 children19 women13 men)
Airwars civilian harm grading
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
Named victims
64 named, 1 familiy identified
View Incident

Incident date

April 29, 2015

Incident Code

CI065

LOCATION

حي الجغيفي, Fallujah, Jughaifi, Al Anbar, Iraq

According to local reports, coalition airstrikes killed nine civilian non-combatants and injured three more in Al Sharika Street, Aljughaifi neighborhood. The dead were named by the Iraqi Revolution website as “belonging to the family of Khamis Sufook al-Jumaili, killing him and his wife and her sister, their sons and daughters, as well as his brother

Summary

First published
April 29, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
9
(5 children3 women1 man)
Airwars civilian harm grading
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
Named victims
9 named, 1 familiy identified
View Incident

Incident date

April 29, 2015

Incident Code

CI066

LOCATION

الرمانة, Roumana, Al Anbar, Iraq

Four coalition strikes allegedly hit the village of Roumana near al Qaim, in Anbar province. According to the Baghdad Center for Human Rights, an unspecified number of non-combatants died in the event. Islamic State may have been the source for those claims, which it made on one of its websites.  

Summary

First published
April 29, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
2
Civilians reported injured
2
Airwars civilian harm grading
Weak
Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

April 26, 2015

Incident Code

CS064

LOCATION

متراس, Mitras, Aleppo, Syria

Reported Coalition airstrikes at 11 am on the village of Mitras killed three civilians, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights.  These were identified as an adult male, a teenager and a child. This event bears a resemblance to an April 19th incident at the same location (CS063) in that the victims are from

Summary

First published
April 26, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
3
(2 children1 man)
Airwars civilian harm grading
Weak
Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
Named victims
3 named, 1 familiy identified
View Incident

Incident date

April 22, 2015

Incident Code

CI064

LOCATION

الموصل‎, Mosul, Bareed, Nineveh, Iraq

At least four civilians died in a Coalition airstrike on the Bareed quarter of Mosul. A home was completely destroyed in the event, killing four members of one family. One report also named a fifth family member, a young disabled girl named Sadra (cousin to Abdullah) as being killed. However as the Fiscal Times noted,

Summary

First published
April 22, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
4
(1 child2 women1 man)
Airwars civilian harm grading
Confirmed
A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
Known belligerent
US-led Coalition
Named victims
4 named, 1 familiy identified
View Incident

Incident date

April 21, 2015

Incident Code

CI063

LOCATION

الموصل‎, Mosul, East, Nineveh, Iraq

A claimed coalition airstrike on the centre of Mosul killed up to 23 militants and five or more non-combatants according to reports, after four homes were destroyed. NINA cited a medical source as saying that 23 civilians died when aircraft struck the Mdaana neighbourhood – though this appears to be a mis-cite of other casualties

Summary

First published
April 21, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
5 – 9
(1 child4 women)
Civilians reported injured
12
Airwars civilian harm grading
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

April 20, 2015

Incident Code

CI062

LOCATION

القيارة, near Qayyarah, Nineveh, Iraq

Summary

First published
April 20, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
Unknown
Airwars civilian harm grading
Discounted
Those killed were combatants, or other parties most likely responsible.
View Incident

Incident date

April 20, 2015

Incident Code

CI060

LOCATION

الموصل‎, Mosul, Aden, Nineveh, Iraq

A reported Coalition airstrike on an electricity generating facility reportedly killed up tp 35 civilians and injured 22 more when nearby apartments were caught in the blast, according to reports. The US led Coalition later conceded 18 deaths in this event. At the time of the incident, NINA cited a medical source at the hospital

Summary

First published
April 20, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Strike status
Declared strike
Strike type
Airstrike
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
18 – 35
(4 children11 women)
Civilians reported injured
22–50
Cause of injury / death
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Airwars civilian harm grading
Confirmed
A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
Known belligerent
US-led Coalition
Known target
ISIS
Named victims
1 named
View Incident

Incident date

April 20, 2015

Incident Code

CI061

LOCATION

فايده, Fadhiliya, Nineveh, Iraq

An airstrike on the village of Fadiliya near Bashiqa, north of Mosul, killed between 5 and 11 civilians according to reports. NINA, citing a peshmerga source, said that three Daesh militants and 11 non-combatants died in a coalition strike. In contrast Arb-q cited a security source as saying that an unidentified airstrike had killed “five

Summary

First published
April 20, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
5 – 11
Airwars civilian harm grading
Contested
Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

April 19, 2015

Incident Code

CI059

LOCATION

الرطبة, Ar Rutbah, Al Anbar, Iraq

In a likely US or British drone strike, a truck was inadvertently hit during an airstrike at Ar Rutbah, according to a declassified CENTCOM report. “2 seconds prior to weapon impact, a large truck inadvertently arrived at the checkpoint. The back section of the truck was possibly damaged during the strike.” The driver was observed

Summary

First published
April 19, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
0
Civilians reported injured
2
Airwars civilian harm grading
Confirmed
A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
Known belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

April 19, 2015

Incident Code

CS063

LOCATION

متراس, Mitras, Aleppo, Syria

A shepherd was reported by the Syrian Network as having been killed in a Coalition airstrike near Mitras. Five other people were injured by shrapnel. The victim’s son later described retrieving his father’s body: “The rocket caused a great hole in the ground, almost two metres deep. I buried my father’s body in the town.“

Summary

First published
April 19, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
1
(1 man)
Civilians reported injured
5
Airwars civilian harm grading
Discounted
Those killed were combatants, or other parties most likely responsible.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
Named victims
1 named
View Incident

Incident date

April 12, 2015

Incident Code

CI058

LOCATION

الحويجة, Hawijah, Kirkuk, Iraq

Internal monitoring by the Coalition initially identified two possible civilian casualties from an airstrike at Hawijah. The attack, on a High Value target code-named ANDERS MESA, was carried out by an A-10 Warthog. According to a CENTCOM report declassified in September 2015, “2 civilians unseen in the collateral calls may have been killed or injured

Summary

First published
April 12, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
2
Airwars civilian harm grading
Confirmed
A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
Known belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

April 8, 2015

Incident Code

CI057

LOCATION

الموصل‎, Mosul, Maydan neighborhood, Bab Lagash, Aqaydat, Wadi Hajar, Denden and Tayyaran, Nineveh, Iraq

According to NINA, an intensive airstrike by the Coalition at dawn killed 11 civilians and injured a further four in Mosul. Strikes reportedly hit the neighbourhoods of Maydan, Bab Lagash, Aqaydat, Wadi Hajar, Denden and Tayyaran. The news website Ajyal reported that up to 30 people had died in an airstrike on a juvenile prison

Summary

First published
April 8, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
11 – 15
Civilians reported injured
4
Airwars civilian harm grading
Contested
Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

April 4, 2015

Incident Code

CI056

LOCATION

فايده, Fadhiliya, Nineveh, Iraq

Five Kurdish non-combatants, all from the same family, died in a reported Coalition strike on the village of Fadhiliyah, near Mosul. A major field investigation by the Guardian later identified the dead. Three family members survived the attack though were injured. Rahim, an eyewitness and relative, told the Guardian: “We wrapped the dead in blankets

Summary

First published
April 4, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Strike status
Declared strike
Strike type
Airstrike
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
5
(1 child2 women2 men)
Civilians reported injured
3
Cause of injury / death
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Airwars civilian harm grading
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
Known target
ISIS
Named victims
5 named, 1 familiy identified
View Incident

Incident date

April 3, 2015

Incident Code

CI055

LOCATION

الوائلية, Al Waelyiah, Nineveh, Iraq

Abdarahman Alloizi MP, a deputy in the Iraqi parliament, claimed that as many as 26 civilians from one family died, when the coalition struck a house near Mosul, in the village of Al Waeliyah. No additional details are presently known.  

Summary

First published
April 3, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
26
Airwars civilian harm grading
Weak
Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

March 28, 2015

Incident Code

CI054

LOCATION

تل عفر, Tall Afar, Nineveh, Iraq

According to an internal CENTCOM document, according to a self-reported night time incident involving an American aircraft may have caused civilian casualties: “US F-16 may have unintentionally struck the nearest collateral object (NCO) and unintentionally struck a car that moved into the FOV [field of view.]“ The outcome of any investigation at the time the

Summary

First published
March 28, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
0 – 1
Civilians reported injured
0–1
Airwars civilian harm grading
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

March 25, 2015

Incident Code

CI053

LOCATION

الفلوجة‎, Fallujah, multiple neighbourhoods, Al Anbar, Iraq

Local residents reported that seven civilians died in a coalition airstrike on Fallujah, with 22 more injured. There were claims that a number of neighbourhoods were hit, including in the west and south of the city. A resident of Fallujah of unknown status, named as Shawki Al-Abdal Saidi, put out a press statement claiming that

Summary

First published
March 25, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
7
Civilians reported injured
22
Airwars civilian harm grading
Contested
Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
Suspected belligerents
US-led Coalition, Iraq Government Forces
View Incident

Incident date

March 19, 2015

Incident Code

CI052

LOCATION

الحويجة, Hawijah, Kirkuk, Iraq

In an event previously unknown to Airwars, an internal CENTCOM review of a Coalition strike on an ‘ISIL weapons assembly area’ at Hawijah identified a possible issue. According to the report, “ISR imagery showed that an unintentional potential ClVCAS may have occurred. Unidentified and unexpected personnel were seen IVO [in the vicinity of] the detonations.

Summary

First published
March 19, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
0 – 2
Civilians reported injured
0–2
Airwars civilian harm grading
Discounted
Those killed were combatants, or other parties most likely responsible.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

March 13, 2015

Incident Code

CI051

LOCATION

الحضر, Hatra, Nineveh, Iraq

A US airstrike ‘likely’ killed four civilians when a pair of vehicles was hit during an attack on a reported ISIL checkpoint, a CENTCOM investigation later concluded. After a later investigation by the Washington Post found that eleven civilians actually died – including five children, four women and two civilian drivers – the Coalition raised

Summary

First published
March 13, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
11
(5 children4 women2 men)
Airwars civilian harm grading
Confirmed
A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
Known belligerent
US-led Coalition
Named victims
5 named, 1 familiy identified
View Incident

Incident date

March 9, 2015

Incident Code

CI050

LOCATION

تل كيف‎, Telkaif, Nineveh, Iraq

Eight civilians including three women were claimed by NINA to have been killed in a coalition airstrike on Telkaif, 20km north of Mosul. A dozen militants also reportedly died in the attack.  

Summary

First published
March 9, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
8
Airwars civilian harm grading
Weak
Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

March 8, 2015

Incident Code

CS061

LOCATION

اطمه, Atimah, Idlib, Syria

Sources reported that five unnamed civilian were killed – along with fighters with the al-Nusra Front – in an airstrike on the Syria-Turkey border town of Atama. The building targeted was described as the local headquarters of the al-Nusra Front, an al Qaeda linked faction occasionally targeted by US forces. Photographs and videos depicted heavy

Summary

First published
March 8, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
5 – 6
Airwars civilian harm grading
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
View Incident

Incident date

March 8, 2015

Incident Code

CS062

LOCATION

Mundbaith Refinery, Tal Abyad, Raqqa, Syria

Up to 30 people, including civilian oilworkers and alleged ISIL militants, died in a night time strike on Mundbaith Refinery according to multiple reports. Ara noted that “The bombing also caused the breaking of glass in houses near the border including shops on the Turkish side, causing panic among the population, and the evacuation of

Summary

First published
March 8, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
No
Civilians reported killed
2 – 15
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 belligerent
US-led Coalition
Named victims
1 named
View Incident

Incident date

March 6, 2015

Incident Code

CS060

LOCATION

مشفى عائشة الخيري, البوكمال, Abu Kamal, al Aisha Hospital, Deir Ezzor, Syria

Up to five non-combatants including a woman and two infants were reported killed in an alleged 1pm Coalition airstrike on the Aisha hospital in the town of Bukamal. The Violations Documentation Center named one woman as a victim of the strike (described as pregnant by SOHR in an email to Airwars.) Also reported slain were two

Summary

First published
March 6, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
4 – 6
(1–2 children1 woman3 men)
Civilians reported injured
4
Airwars civilian harm grading
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Suspected belligerent
US-led Coalition
Named victims
2 named
View Incident

Incident date

March 6, 2015

Incident Code

CI049

LOCATION

الفلوجة‎, Fallujah, al Karma General Hospital, Al Anbar, Iraq

An alleged coalition air strike on Garma hospital in east Fallujah reportedly killed one doctor and injured five other medical staff. According to Al Sumaria TV, one source stated that “the bombing of the hospital was due to the presence of armed men belonging to Daesh inside.” However the Iraqi Spring site attributed the attack

Summary

First published
March 6, 2015
Last updated
January 18, 2022
Civilian harm reported
Yes
Civilians reported killed
1
Civilians reported injured
5
Airwars civilian harm grading
Contested
Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
Suspected belligerents
US-led Coalition, Iraq Government Forces
View Incident