Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

RS2199

Incident date

April 28, 2017

Location

كفرزيتا , Kafr Zita, Hama, Syria

Geolocation

35.3747033, 36.5923691 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Local media reported the death of one named adult-male civilian – a blind man – in an alleged Russian airstrike on the Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah mosque in Kafr Zita. According to SHRC, Russian warplanes initially targeted a hospital next to the mosque – and then returned to strike the mosque itself.

Smart reported:  “A journalist working with Smart said that two warplanes attacked the Abu Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah mosque in the town of Kafr Zeita (38 km northwest of Hama city), which killed one civilian and destroyed the mosque. Rescue teams worked to lift the rubble and recovered the body of the young man.”

SHRC provided significant details on this event; it reported: “At approximately 04:00 on the evening of 28 April 2017, a warplanes believed to be Russian conducted a single air strike during which the Abu Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah mosque was hit by high-impact concussion missiles, causing considerable material damage and putting the mosque out of service.

“The bombing killed a person who was present to pray the afternoon, the blind Mu’adh Hussein Arafat, and wounded others.”

According to SHRC, “the shelling caused moderate damage to the hospital adjacent to the mosque and stopped it working. The Russian planes targeted the hospital adjacent to the Abu Ubaida mosque in an air strike, in which fired concussion rockets but did not achieve its goal. After that, the aircraft returned and targeted the mosque itself, which is located east of the hospital”.

The incident occured between 4:00 pm and 4:30 pm local time.

The victims were named as:

Adult male killed

Summary

  • Civilian infrastructure
    Healthcare facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 (5) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (6) [ collapse]

  • Images showing the ruins of the Abu Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah Mosque in the western part of Kafr Zita, following an airstrike on April 28th. Also pictured is Mu'adh Hussein Arafat, a young blind man reportedly killed in the strike. These images are from the now suspended Twitter account Alfaori , though the tweet has been archived by Airwars.
  • The aftermath of an alleged Russian airstrike on Abu Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah Mosque, Kafr Zita, April 28th 2017 (via SHRC)
  • The aftermath of an alleged Russian airstrike on Abu Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah Mosque, Kafr Zita, April 28th 2017 (via SHRC)
  • The aftermath of an alleged Russian airstrike on Abu Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah Mosque, Kafr Zita, April 28th 2017 (via SHRC)
  • The aftermath of an alleged Russian airstrike on Abu Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah Mosque, Kafr Zita, April 28th 2017 (via SHRC)
  • The aftermath of an alleged Russian airstrike on Abu Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah Mosque, Kafr Zita, April 28th 2017 (via SHRC)

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Civilian infrastructure
    Healthcare facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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 (5) [ collapse]