Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

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Incident Code

CI446

Incident date

January 31, 2017

Location

الموصل‎, Mosul, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.34585235, 43.09857692 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

In an incident not previously known to Airwars researchers, the Coalition reported on March 4th that it was assessing an event at Mosul.

According to the release “Currently, 19 reports of civilian casualties are still being assessed… Jan. 31, 2017, near Mosul, Iraq, via social media report.”

No additional details are presently known.

Summary

  • 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 attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (1) [ collapse]

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For January 30th-31st the Coalition stated: “Near Mosul, seven strikes engaged six ISIL tactical units and an ISIL mortar team; destroyed two VBIED facilities, two ISIL-held buildings, a weapons facility, a fighting position, a VBIED, an ISIL headquarters, a tunnel, a tactical vehicle, a mortar system and a weapons cache; damaged three supply routes and suppressed a mortar team.“

Summary

  • 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 attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Incident Code

TS070

Incident date

January 31, 2017

Location

الباب, Al Bab, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.371972, 37.51631 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between three and six people were reportedly killed in Turkish bombardment of Al Bab, Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported: “While three people were killed, including a woman, by bombing and shelling by the Turkish forces and warplanes on areas in Tedef town and Al Bab city in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo which is controlled by the ‘Islamic State’ organization.”

Asharq Alarabi reported a higher number: “In the governorate of Aleppo, 15 people were killed, eight of them in the shelling of the towns of Tedef, Al Bureij and Al Bab in the governorate’s countryside.”

LCCSY only said that ten civilians died due to Turkish shelling in the Aleppo area with the majority of them around Al Bab.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 6
  • (1 woman)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Turkish Military

Sources (3) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Al Bab (الباب), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.371972, 37.51631. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Turkish Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Turkish Military
  • Turkish Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 6
  • (1 woman)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Turkish Military

Sources (3) [ collapse]

Incident Code

TS071

Incident date

January 31, 2017

Location

تادف, Tedef, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.34857, 37.531501 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Around three civilians were reportedly killed in Tedef near Al Bab due to Turkish or Syrian regime shelling.

Asharq Alarabi reported: “In the governorate of Aleppo, 15 people were killed, eight of them in the shelling of the towns of Tedef, Al Bureij and Al Bab in the governorate’s countryside.”

Cyberaman only reported Syrian regime strikes in the area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that “three people were killed, including a woman by bombing and shelling by the Turkish forces and warplanes on areas in Tedef town and Al Bab city in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo which is controlled by the ‘Islamic State’ organization.”

The alleged civilian casualties from Al Bab were already mentioned in T69.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Turkish Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (3) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Tedef (تادف), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.34857, 37.531501. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Turkish Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Turkish Military
  • Turkish Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Turkish Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (3) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CI445

Incident date

January 30, 2017

Location

حي التنك, Mosul, Tanak, Nineveh, Iraq

Geolocation

36.345117, 43.049873 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Within 1m (via Coalition) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

It was reported that 11 civilians died in a Coalition airstrike at Tanak in western Mosul.

The Coalition later admitted a US strike in the near area, noting in their April 2017 civilian casualty report that “During a strike on an ISIS weapons manufacturing facility, it was assessed that one civilian in the building was unintentionally killed.” Officials confirmed to Airwars that this was at al Tanak.

A key early source at the time of the event appeared to be ISIL via its Al A’Amaq media arm, which noted “The death of 11 people, including children and women as a result of international coalition air strikes targeting life in the city of #Mosul yesterday evening.”

In an update published on February 5th, Mosul Ateka reported the subsequent death from his injuries of Mustafa Mayser Mahmoud – noting that his mother and father Mayser Mahmoud had also died in the incident.

The Coalition provided Airwars with coordinates for the event, accurate to a one metre box.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Mustafa Mayser Mahmoud
Adult male Mustafa Mayser Mahmoud killed
Mayser Mahmoud
Adult male Father of killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 11
  • (2 children2 women2 men)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (4) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Mayser and his father (via Mosul Ateka)

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Known belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Credible / Substantiated
    The investigation assessed that although all feasible precautions were taken and the decision to strike complied with the law of armed conflict, unintended civilian casualties regrettably occurred.
  • Given reason for civilian harm
    Inside target building
    Airwars’ assessment of belligerent’s civilian casualty statement
  • Initial Airwars grading
    Confirmed
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    1
  • Stated location
    near Mosul, Iraq
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    1 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    38SLF2499823993
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Apr 1, 2017

  • Jan. 30, 2017, near Mosul, Iraq, via self-report: During a strike on an ISIS weapons manufacturing facility, it was assessed that one civilian in the building was unintentionally killed.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For January 29th-30th the Coalition reported that “Near Mosul, five strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units; destroyed five watercraft, four VBIED factories, four front-end loaders, an artillery system, a vehicle, two ISIL-held buildings and a command and control node; and suppressed an ISIL mortar team.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 11
  • (2 children2 women2 men)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Confirmed
    A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
  • Known attacker
    US-led Coalition

Sources (4) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS1874

Incident date

January 30, 2017

Location

قصر البريج , Qasr al Bureij village, south east al Bab, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.31798, 37.70512 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Four civilians from one family died and three more were injured in an alleged Russian airstrike on Qasr al Bureij village, south east al Bab, according to multiple local sources.

According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, “four civilians, including two children and a woman, died in suspected Russian warplanes”.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (2 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (13) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • The aftermath of an alleged Russian raid on Qasr al Bureij village, south east al Bab, Jan 30th 2017 (via Alaraby)

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (2 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (13) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS465

Incident date

January 30, 2017

Location

Western countryside of Ar Raqqah, Ar Raqqah, Syria

Airwars assessment

A single source reported the death of one civilian in an alleged Coalition strike.

According to the Syrian Observatory, “SOHR documented the death of a person from the southeastern countryside of Homs, he was killed in bombing by warplanes of the International Coalition on areas in the western countryside al-Raqqah city.”

No additional details are presently known.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

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

Sources (1) [ collapse]

CJTF–OIR Declassified Assessment and Press Release

Attached to this civilian harm incident is a provisional reconciliation of the Pentagon's declassified assessment of this civilian harm allegation, based on matching date and locational information.

The declassified documents were obtained by Azmat Khan and the New York Times through Freedom of Information requests and lawsuits filed since March 2017, and are included alongside the corresponding press release published by the Pentagon. Airwars is currently analysing the contents of each file, and will update our own assessments accordingly.

Declassified Assessment Press Release

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Non credible / Unsubstantiated
    Insufficient information to assess that, more likely than not, a Coalition strike resulted in civilian casualties.
  • Reason for non-credible assessment
    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
  • Oct 27, 2017

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

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition
Official source

For January 29th-30th the Coalition publicly reported that Near Ar Raqqah, four strikes destroyed a front-end loader, an ammunition factory, an oil pump jack and an oil storage tank; and damaged a supply route.”

Summary

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

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Incident Code

CS466

Incident date

January 30, 2017

Location

الثورة‎, Al-Thawrah (Tabaqah), Ar Raqqah, Syria

Geolocation

35.8295049, 38.5360909 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Up to three civilians were killed in reported Coalition airstrikes around al Tabaqa when a school was hit in airstrikes. One of the casualtiies was said to be a special needs person.

According to Smart News, “A local source said the [Coalition] planes bombed the area of the villas and Muhammad Al Fares school in Al Thaleth [the third] neighbourhood in al Tabaqa. A medical source explained that two dead and three wounded civilians were brought to the national hospital in Tabaqa – one of them someone with special needs.” Syrian Mirror said some of those injured were in a critical condition.

Syria News Desk – which said two civilians died and four were injured, noted that the airstrike “also led to the complete destruction of two houses and material damage to a number of shops and other property.”

 

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Omar Faress al Hamir
Age unknown male From Deir Ezzor killed

Summary

  • Civilian infrastructure
    School
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 3
  • 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 (7) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • The consumer association “the warehouse” near the sports city after it was struck (via Euphrates Post)
  • The consumer association “the warehouse” near the sports city after it was struck (via Euphrates Post)
  • The consumer association “the warehouse” near the sports city after it was struck (via Euphrates Post)
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 Tabqa, Iraq
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SDV580651
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Feb 22, 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 January 29th-30th the Coalition publicly reported that Near Ar Raqqah, four strikes destroyed a front-end loader, an ammunition factory, an oil pump jack and an oil storage tank; and damaged a supply route.”

Summary

  • Civilian infrastructure
    School
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 3
  • 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 (7) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS1873

Incident date

January 30, 2017

Location

الأول ريف المهندسينكفرجوم, Kafr Joum, Al Muhandissin Al wwal countryside, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.11127, 36.95655 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A mother and her six children were killed in an alleged Russian or Assad regime airstrike “massacre” in the countryside of western Aleppo, according to sources on the ground.

The noon raid struck three houses in the region controlled by opposition forces. It is currently home to displaced residents from the southern area of the city. The Center for Civil Defense said it was a breach of an agreed cease fire between the sides.

However, the Syrian Network for Human Rights claimed Syrian regime warplanes were in fact responsible.The wounded included children ranging in age from one to nine years one, according to the Syrian News Desk. Some were transferred to a hospital on the Turkish border for treatment.

Teams including the White Helmets worked for nearly five hours to remove the bodies from the rubble, a civil defense official said.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4 – 7
  • (6 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1–2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (22) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (10) [ collapse]

  • Translation: 'The shelling of the village of Kafarjoum today 30-1-2017'
  • The aftermath of an alleged Russian airstrike on Kafr Joum, Al Muhandissin Al wwal countryside, (via Shehab)

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    One of six children reportedly killed in an alleged Russian airstrike on Kafr Joum, Al Muhandissin Al wwal countryside, (via Shehab)

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Translation: ': Martyrdom of a mother and her six children in the bombing of the Russian occupation aircraft on the rural countryside of the countryside # Aleppo West'
  • 'e raids targeting Kafr Joum Today 30/1/2017'
  • Translation: 'Russian warplanes targeted al Muhanidssin al Awwal countryside KafrJoum in western Aleppo countryside with three raids leading to the martyrdom of 7 people - a woman and 6 children in addition to the injury of one child and widespread destruction in the area.' (via White Helmets)
  • Translation: 'Russian warplanes targeted al Muhanidssin al Awwal countryside KafrJoum in western Aleppo countryside with three raids leading to the martyrdom of 7 people - a woman and 6 children in addition to the injury of one child and widespread destruction in the area.' (via White Helmets)

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4 – 7
  • (6 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1–2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (22) [ collapse]