Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

RS190

Incident date

November 25, 2015

Location

أعزاز‎, A`zaz, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.579644, 37.033206 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Eight non-combatants including a child were reported killed in alleged Russian warplanes targeted trucks in the town of Azaz.

Russian planes launched several rockets on a civilian area, hitting freight trucks 2km from Bab Al Salameh on the Syrian-Turkish border. The Syrian Network said the vehicles specialised in transporting foodstuff to and from the crossing, and that no less than eight freight cars were destroyed.

Majed Al Halabi, a local media activist in Izaz, gave SN4HR his testimony: “The Russian warplane hovered around next to Bab Al Salama crossing point then it fired two vacuum rockets on the gathering of freight vehicles. I knew that the shelling was Russian due to the FSA observatories that pick up signals between a warplane and the military base. The shelling ignited a fire in the freight cars that gathered on the north-western side of the city. The civil defence teams arrived and pulled out the victims’ bodies from under the rubble and transported them to Ezzaz National Hospital. The critical cases were transported to Turkey’s  hospitals.”

SN4HR named three victims

Also, VDC has named the following fatalities, all adult males.

Russia has accepted responsibility for the attack though not the civilian casualties: “Messages of some foreign media concerning the alleged engagement of a column of trucks of a “humanitarian convoy” from Turkey near the border-crossing point Bab Al-Salam by the Russian aircraft are also nothing but stovepiping. It is to be stressed that the photos and videos published in the Internet:

* first, do not show any craters of exploded munitions;

* second, do not feature any fragmentations, which could damage all the trucks, as a result of strikes.

* finally, there are no remains of the mere munitions.

That is why they are advised not to pose convoys with ammunition for militants active to the north of Aleppo as “humanitarian help”. By the way, the Turkish party had not given any notice concerning delivering of any humanitarian convoy in this area. Aside from the fact that any humanitarian convoy is specially marked.”

As an Al Jazeera reporter on the scene noted, Russia’s attack may have had a political motive: “The raid focused on the industrial area which according to the civil defence we spoke to earlier, has led to critical injuries and the destruction of several trucks that were here. This is the first time that the border area has been targeted and it has come after Turkey downed a Russian plane in the Lattakia countryside yesterday.”

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Adult male (22 years old) from Taqtad killed
Adult male (19 years) of Dara Aza killed

The victims were named as:

Age unknown named by SN4HR - 15 years old from Al Raqqa killed
Adult male named by SN4HR killed
Age unknown named by SN4HR killed
Age unknown male named by VDC killed
Age unknown named by VDC killed

Geolocation notes (4) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention an airstrike targeting a convoy of trucks parked at a facility in western A’zaz (أعزاز‎). After investigating audio-visual material from sources, we narrowed this location to a strip of tarmac just south of the city’s Agricultural Bank, for which the exact coordinates are: 36.579644, 37.033206.

  • A screenshot from an on-scene video shows men walking toward the burning trucks.

    Imagery:
    Shaam Network

  • An image from the scene shows the trucks burning at the facility.

    Imagery:
    North Press

  • Satellite imagery shows the features marked in the on-scene pictures. Note that feature F refers to the location where the pavement of the trucking facility ends and the dirt road begins.

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

  • Overhead imagery shows the exact location of the airstrike.

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    8
  • (1 child7 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    6
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Unknown

Media
from sources (5) [ collapse]

  • Burning trucks in the aftermath of an alleged Russian strike at Izzaz, November 25th (via SN4HR)
  • The aftermath of an alleged Russian airstrike on Izzaz, November 25th (via ShaamNews SNN)
  • The moments immediately after the strike (via Izzaz Media Office)
  • 'Azazaz - Russian warplanes launched intensive air strikes on towns in the northern countryside of Aleppo, resulting in deaths and injuries. The shelling targeted the town of A'zaz on the Syrian-Turkish border. The raids also included the towns of Hreitan, Oban, Hayyan and Bianun. Report: Amr Halabi' (via north press)
  • 'Dead and wounded by Russian raids on Aazaz countryside, Aleppo' (via Al Jazeera TV)

Unknown Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Unknown

Confirmed in its report for November 23rd-26th 2015.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    8
  • (1 child7 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    6
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Unknown