Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

RS1308

Incident date

September 22, 2016

Location

الحوطة, Al Houta, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.43222222, 37.74444444 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Two children and a woman died in strikes on the village of Al Houta, outside Aleppo, local sources reported – though reports were conflicted as to whether this was the work of Russia or the Assad regime.

@thiqanewsagency identified the names of three victims, two children and one woman.  Other sources, including @SyriaPulse  @SyrianFNN and @DaretezzaMedia, also reported that three civilians were killed.

Baladi News posted a YouTube video of Al Houta showing a building reduced to rubble, which it attributed to Russian bombardment. The Syrian Network for Human referred to “Russian shelling,” and @RadioAlKul also attributed the strikes to the Russians, but most sources did not refer to a culprit.

However, Qasioun News said the raids were carried out by the Assad regime.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (3)

Marwa Talha
3 years old female killed
Tayba Talha
5 years old female killed
Jamila Yusuf Talha
Adult female killed

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Houta (الحوطة), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.43222222, 37.74444444. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • (2 children1 woman)
  • 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 belligerents
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (20) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • Aftermath of the contested strikes on al-Houta, Aleppo (via Baladi News Network)
  • Aftermath of the contested strikes on al-Houta, Aleppo (via Thiqa News Agency)
  • Civilians standing in the rubble caused by the contested strikes on al-Houta, Aleppo (via Jaafr M Deen Youtube)

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military

Russia has not reported any strikes between September 1st – 30th 2016.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • (2 children1 woman)
  • 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 belligerents
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (20) [ collapse]