The interviews with victims, their relatives and numerous witnesses conducted by the Democracy Research Foundation, cited in the report, prove that there are people suffered from the air strikes by the US-led international coalition in every age group, among all professions and income categories. This fact confirms the extensive coverage of the strikes against the civilian population in Syria, which, according to international law, is a war crime. In almost every locality that was attacked by the US-led international coalition, we could find victims of the air strikes in almost every family.
Syrian citizens tell in detail how they go injured during the coalition’s rocket and bomb attacks, as well as about their relatives and friends who died: “I was then at the river crossing site near the Euphrates, I wanted to escape to the other side of the river when the US coalition began bombing the site. There were about 16 cars, I remember, they were standing in a line, waiting for their turn. They are still standing there after the bombing,” “My husband was killed in the bombing, although he had nothing to do with the warfare. Just like that, an aircraft flew up, dropped the bombs and flew away,” “I am one of those who personally suffered from the bombing by the coalition. My house was completely destroyed, and my father was killed,” “Lots of people died, many were injured - an entire family of 11 people was killed, there was another family of six people. All of them died, including the children.”
The victims and direct witnesses of the coalition attacks are surprised not only by the fact of the large-scale killing of civilians, but also by the fact that terrorists and militants were attacked less frequently. “The coalition supports the militants. We managed to escape from our house before the attack. The militants’ cars were parked near the building of the Sharia court They didn’t even die, but my house was damaged,” “As a result of the bombing, the coalition destroyed my house, but they didn’t attack the school nearby. The militants were inside the school building,” “Americans didn’t bomb the militants. All the militants left somewhere to Maadan.
Question: “Did your family or friends or relatives somehow suffer from the actions of the American coalition?”
Nasser Hamad Al-Baty, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, al-Abbas, 33 years old, peasant
Nasser Hamad Al-Baty, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, al-Abbas, 33 years old, peasant: Some people from my village were among the victims of the coalition attacks, my cousin was killed. The US coalition bombed our village in 2017. There were some ISIS head quarters in the village, but no bomb hit any of them. The bombs hit only our houses. The coalition managed to destroy 6 civilian houses, but failed to destroy the militant head quarter.
“I was then at the river crossing site near the Euphrates, I wanted to escape to the other side of the river when the US coalition began bombing the site. There were about 16 cars, I remember, they were standing in a queue waiting for their turn. They are still standing there after the bombing. About 200 people from different localities were killed as a result of those air strikes at the river crossing sites. That happened in June - July 2017. I witnessed those air strikes, me and my friends were standing behind the earth fill, we also wanted to escape to the other side of the river and we were only 500 meters away from the air strike. There were only civilian cars with people seeking to cross the Euphrates, to escape. The burnt cars are still there.”
Pictured: the place of the air strike by the US coalition at the river crossing site near Kata, in front of Hajin, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, 2017. According to eyewitnesses, about 200 civilians were killed as a result of the airstrike.
Pictured: Nasser Hamad Al-Baty, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, S. Al-Abbas, 33, a peasant is telling about the air strike by the US coalition to civilians who wanted to cross the Euphrates:
Nasser Hamad Al-Baty, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, al-Abbas, 33 years old, peasant: “In 2017, because the US coalition were bombing my village - al-Abbas, all people were forced to seek escaping to the other side of the river, at the river crossing site located opposite the city of Hajin. As there were a lot of cars queuing there, the US coalition attacked them. 15-16 cars are still there, they were burnt as a result of that air strike. Together with my relatives, we were hiding behind those trees. We all gathered there as we wanted to get to the other side of the river. That river crossing had ferries that could transport even cars with people. So people gathered and were waiting for their turn to get to the other side of the river.
At that time, there were high precision air strikes, even if the target was a single car spotted in a field. There were many cars waiting for the ferry – ordinary civilians, peasants with their tractors, women, children. They were not only from the neighboring villages. Residents of Mayadin also came here, they lived here as refugees, since everything started there and only then spread to here. They wanted to cross this river, but, unfortunately, not everyone managed to do this.”
Saleha Mahmoud Al-Faisal, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Kata, 40 years old, housewife
Saleha Mahmoud Al-Faisal, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Kata, 40 years old, housewife: “My husband was killed as a result of the bombing by the US coalition, though he had nothing to do with the terrorists. An aircraft flew up, attacked us and flew away. This happened in November 2017. The militants were 1 km away from us, about 15 minutes by foot. We were at home, then my husband went outside and then there was an air strike. The bomb hit the house near us. I have 6 children - 2 boys and 4 girls. The older child is 14, the younger one is 8 They should survive. When my husband was alive, he could support out family and children. Now I don’t even have food to give to them. This is the most serious problem for me.
When the aircraft flew away, I buried my husband and escaped. We buried him right there, where he died. Our neighbors also escaped, and they still didn’t get back.
It wasn’t easy to cross the Euphrates. When we were at the river crossing, the aviation attacked us. They attacked the river crossing, nothing else. It is surprising that we have survived and managed to escape. When we were at the crossing, the bombs were falling next to us, and we could die any moment, they could hit us, but we survived. Many people died. Everybody was running in the same direction. You will never understand how it feels...”
Miyasar Khleif Al-Khalifa, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Abu Kemal, 29 years old, office worker
Miyasar Khleif Al-Khalifa, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Abu Kemal, 29 years old, office worker: “On June 28, 2021 I was at work and there was an explosion. The US bomb fell next to the house, 20 meters away. Half of the house was destroyed. The roof, the water tanks and the walls. As a result, my wife Ihbal, 28 years old, and my elder daughter Neba, 9 years old, were killed, and the two remaining daughters were injured - one got severe injuries, the other one - minor injuries. They only left the hospital yesterday. The elder one, Manal, who is five years old, got a bomb splinter in the head and a leg wound, and the youngest, Yakim, who is 4 months old, had slight injuries only – her face and arm were cut by shrapnel.
My neighbors also suffered from this air strike: their house was destroyed, the car was burnt, 3 people got minor injuries - a father, his son and daughter. My son is 8 years old, he has a fracture of the pelvic bone and a bomb splinter in his head. He is undergoing surgery now. The girl is 7 years old, I do not know which injuries she got, most likely, also a broken leg and a head injury.”
Question: “Why do you think that was an American aircraft?”
Miyasar Khleif Al-Khalifa, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Abu Kemal, 29 years old, office worker: “No, that couldn’t be a Syrian aircraft. High power, high accuracy of attacks... That couldn’t be a Syrian aircraft.
Zakaria Al-Saleh, 28 years old, general practitioner, Deir ez-Zor City Hospital
Zakaria Al-Saleh, 28 years old, general practitioner, Deir ez-Zor City Hospital: “On June 28, 2021, I was a doctor on duty and was taking care of all the wounded people from Abu Kemal. At 2 a.m the first 3 wounded persons arrived, at 4 a.m three more were delivered and at 6 a.m they brought two dead persons to us and at 7 a.m another one. The woman Ihbal Fayat Il Hussein, her daughter Neba Miyasar Al-Khalifa and the boy Khlev Saleh Suleiman - they were all dead.
All the injuries were caused by shrapnel during the air strike.
For the first three persons, who were delivered at 2 a.m, I provided primary medical care – the necessary X-ray pictures, tests, blood type, checkup for fractures, putting arm or legs in plaster, dropping-tubes etc. Those who were delivered at 4 a.m received first aid at the Abu Kemal military hospital.
First of all, we examined a four-month-old sister, the youngest. We saw that she had a small wound, immediately sewed it up, cleaned the wound. The girl was crying, special nurses took care of her, gave her milk and did everything to calm the girl down.
The second girl, she had a hip fracture, I restored the fracture so that the leg condition would not worsen. She had a shrapnel in her head and she was immediately transferred to the neurosurgery, where doctor Obeida performed the necessary operation.
Of the other wounded, I can mention a 7-year-old child, Mkhedi,. He had his leg broken. We also examined him, of course, made all the tests, for example, as a breast scan, and a tomography of the abdomen, and everything, thanks God, was ok with him. After that, he was redirected again to neurosurgery, as after a head scan they found that he had internal bleeding.
The rest patients had ordinary wounds. Again, we did all the necessary tests and left them until the morning under the supervision of specialist doctors, and already in the morning they checked out.”
Question: “Dr. Abdulrazak, did you operate on the girl with a wound in her head after the American coalition airstrike - her name was Manal Al-Khalifa?”
Obeida Abdulrazak, 30 years old, neurosurgeon at Deir ez-Zor City Hospital
Obeida Abdulrazak, 30 years old, neurosurgeon at Deir ez-Zor City Hospital: “Yes. I was called at 8 a.m, they said that there was a girl in severe condition in the neurosurgery department. When I arrived at the hospital, she was in a coma, featuring low sensitivity, we did a tomogram of her head. A bomb fragment was found there, which is clearly visible in the right part of the skull. She also had a fracture of her right hip. We did an operation on her head. The operation lasted 1.5 - 2 hours. Thanks God, the operation was successful. The girl was ok after the operation. Since this is a brain injury, any psychological or nervous complications may occur in the future. Since she is still a little girl, everything may be fine in the future, everything will recover by itself. She was discharged four days later and is now at home.
I would like to mention that girl, Manal. Her story is dramatic. I wish it didn’t happen to her. As soon as she woke up, she started calling her mother and elder sister, she felt something was wrong with them. Her parents couldn’t say anything. Our nurses provided her with psychological help, explained what had happened. I’ll never forget that moment.
Pictured: a fragment from an air bomb that wounded Manal Al-Khalifa, 5 years old, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Abu Kemal
Obeida Abdulrazak, 30 years old, neurosurgeon at Deir ez-Zor City Hospital: “Another wounded boy - Mhedi. We didn’t find any shrapnel, but we found internal bleeding in the front part of the brain, it is called the frontal part. We performed an operation on him, of course. We noticed changes in the child’s behavior immediately after the boy woke up. His parents said that he had always been a calm child. At that moment he was crying and behaved aggressively. These are the consequences of intracranial bleeding. The operation also went well. We hope in the future, his brain will recover and the boy will be ok.
Hayat Al-Khays, 54, Head nurse of Deir ez-Zor City Hospital
Hayat Al-Khays, 54, Head nurse of Deir ez-Zor City Hospital: “I am the chief nurse in the department of neurosurgery. After Manal woke up, she was in a tragic situation because she realized that she had lost her mother and elder sister, she kept asking to call her mom. We were on duty, and the girl was under our supervision: we had to clean her wounds, put a new bandage. It was incredibly hard for us to watch the girl suffering, we went to another room and cried there. Every time we came up to her, talked to her, asked her to calm down, of course, the girl cried, eventually she calmed down.”
Sari Abdullah Al-Tai, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Abu Kemal city, 24 years old, peasant
Sari Abdullah Al-Tai, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Abu Kemal city, 24 years old, peasant: “On June 28, 2021 we were sleeping, as it was night. We were waken up by the explosion, and I saw my cousins - they were wounded, the girl’s name was Majiba Adai and the boy’s name was Mukheddi Abdallah. They were 12. The girl was wounded in the head and her hand was burned by a fragment. The boy was also wounded in the head, he has a fracture of the pelvic bone. Now one of his eyes can’t see. After I pulled them out from under the ruins, I saw neighbors - a woman and her three daughters were injured. The woman then died, unfortunately, in the hospital, one of her daughters also died in the hospital, they didn’t have time to save her.”
Question: “Do you know who bombed you that night? Who is in charge of that air strike?”
Sari Abdullah Al-Tai, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Abu Kemal city, 24 years old, peasant “The American coalition, they admitted it by posting a video on social networks with their aviation doing that air strike.”
Question: “In your opinion, why are American bombing civilians? Peasants and workers?”
Sari Abdullah Al-Tai, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Abu Kemal city, 24 years old, peasant “I do not know, we are ordinary peasants, we were sleeping and waken up by the sound of this powerful explosion, we have no weapons with us, they divided us and did their air strike, we are ordinary poor peasants, for example, I got my car destroyed, my house is completely destroyed, we didn’t do any bad things.”
Nauf Taha Al-Khalaf, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Masalaha, 25 years old, hairdresser
Nauf Taha Al-Khalaf, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Masalaha, 25 years old, hairdresser “This happened in November 2017. I finished my work, and closed my shop very quickly, as I was told that the US coalition started bombing the central street in our village. I was with my friend - Khaled Ahmed Al-Hussein, we were going home by a motorbike. Then there was this air strike, lots of wounded people around us. People were going somewhere. We decided not to drive along the street. That air strike hit the house in front of us. My leg was torn off right at that very moment, the second one was wounded. My friend got a shrapnel in the neck – the cervical vein and some nerve were damaged. He could have remained paralyzed, but the treatment took him a year and he recovered. Now he uses some kind of a bandage on his neck, he has to take medications all the time. 10 people died as a result of this air strike, two young children and a little boy was among them.
I don’t think there were any militants nearby, although they had their bases and check points in the main street. Their nearest check point was about 500 meters away from us. I consider this a terrorist act, because I’m a civilian, how can I be involved? If they want to attack the ISIS positions, neither me, nor any other civilians have nothing to do with it! What about the children who died as a result of this air strike? And among the ISIS militants there were only few injured people. Because all the injuries that occurred were mostly among civilians. In my opinion, the US coalition wanted people to leave all these areas and territories, they wanted us to run away. What they did was meant to scare us.”
Saleh Khleif Al-Suleiman, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Abu Kemal, 50 years old, entrepreneur
Saleh Khleif Al-Suleiman, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Abu Kemal, 50 years old, entrepreneur “What happened? We were sleeping on June 28, 2021. About 1 a.m we were woken by the sound of explosion. My son was killed as a result of this air strike, he was 8, his name was Khleif Salekh Suleiman. My wife and my second son were wounded. People say there were 3 air strikes, but we didn’t feel anything. The explosion was 50 meters away from my house.”
Salah Khalaf Al-Abid Al-Hazar, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Salhiya, 70 years old, peasant
Salah Khalaf Al-Abid Al-Hazar, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Salhiya, 70 years old, peasant “As a result of air strikes by US coalition, my house was completely destroyed. I used to have 2 cows, not I don’t have cows any more, they were killed. My son lives next to me. The rocket hit his house, made a hole in the ceiling and exploded inside the house. Two children, their friends and uncle died, two of my cousins died. One was killed, and the second had his leg torn off at the knee, the other leg was torn off slightly lower the knee. He is in Damascus now. After the air strikes on the river crossing... My son went missing. We don’t know if he is alive. In was in 2017. At night. In 2017, the strikes were carried out at night, as I told you, two of my brothers were killed. There are also a lot of my uncle’s relatives, whom well... some I know... some I don’t know… Unfortunately, they also died or suffered in any way from the coalition.”
Question: Why did you decide that the air strikes were done by the US coalition?
Salah Khalaf Al-Abid Al-Hazar, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Salhiya, 70 years old, peasant The air strikes were carried out late at night, at 23.00. I was there, and all my family was there. We all got only slight injuries, except the young guys who were killed. They were my cousins, and children also, sons of my sister. Six people died as a result of one air strike. Two of my cousins, my sister’s sons - two of them and two neighbors, who are also our relatives in some way, the rest were slightly injured. One got severe wounds. He had his legs cut off... His arm was broken. The rest of us were only slightly injured - shrapnel, bruises.
I can say, 30 people died as a result of air strikes carried out by the US coalition. Let alone other villagers killed by ISIS militants.
The nearest ISIS head quarters was 700-800 meters away from us. I can say, it was 1 km away. In fact, the militants escaped 2 days prior the air strike, as if they had known about the strikes in advance. They escaped and left all their property and belongings.”
Osman Ahmed Al-Wahid, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, 53 years old, head of Kata
Osman Ahmed Al-Wahid, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, 53 years old, head of Kata “I also suffered from the bombing by the US coalition. My house was totally destroyed, my father was killed. I have lots of relatives who lived nearby and they also suffered from the bombing. And I tell you exactly - the international coalition had civilians, not the militants as the target of their attacks. ISIS militants were 100 away from my house. There was their head quarter. Everybody knew that ISIS militants are there. But they were not subjected to the attack. Instead, we were the target for the attack. It happened in June 2016. There is a village called al-Abbas. It was subjected to an air strike about 1 year ago, here, in this territory. Civilians also died as a result of the strike - one was killed, and one was wounded. There were no militant at that village, at all. But all the air strikes targeted Abu-Kemal. And so, for example, there was a strike from the American base back in 17 in the field and there were peasants who grazed sheep. 4 days ago, for example, there was a strike in Abu Kemal and people were also killed.”
Question: “And how many civilians in total were killed in Abu-Kemal after the air strikes by the coalition? Or not in Abu-Kemal, what about your village?”
Osman Ahmed Al-Wahid, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, 53 years old, head of Kata “15 people were killed, and this is exactly, as the aviation bombed the river crossing site. People were rushing towards the river, and then the aircraft attacked them. 15 people died immediately. It happened in 2017, in June. 15 more people were killed in Kata. In total, 30 persons were killed about over 200 houses were destroyed by the air strikes in 2016-2017.”
Question: “How many militants were killed by these air strikes in your village?”
Osman Ahmed Al-Wahid, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, 53 years old, head of Kata The escaped, crossed the river and were on the opposite side. That’s why I can tell you exactly, that maximum of 10 ISIS militants were killed.
Question: “What do you think, why was the US coalition bombed the civilians’ houses, if they knew where the militants were hiding?”
Osman Ahmed Al-Wahid, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, 53 years old, head of Kata “In my opinion, the US coalition was helping ISIS militants, instead of killing them, as they say. They helped ISIS militants, and I believe, it was Americans who brought those militants to our territory. They wanted us to leave our house, leave all our property and belongings, in order ISIS people could take and use it.
Question: Why did you decide that it was the US coalition? Couldn’t that be the Syrian Army?
Osman Ahmed Al-Wahid, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, 53 years old, head of Kata “We knew that. People already have some war experience, and they are able to identify which aircraft is approaching. For example, if an aircraft made a lot of noise, people know that it was an Egyptian aircraft. If the attack was done out of nowhere, then it was an American aircraft. Syrian aircraft fly much lower, and people are able to recognize them.
Question: “How were you affected by the actions of the US-led international coalition? You or your family?”
Nawal Hassan al-Aja, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Sabha, 29 years old, housewife
Nawal Hassan al-Aja, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Sabha, 29 years old, housewife: “All the people were affected by these actions. We lost our mother. My sister was wounded. On July 21, 2017 at 11 a.m. there was an air strike with the use of cluster munitions, the target was the camp near Sabha. It wasn’t a refugee camp. These were people with camps on their land, residing there. There were no militants. All people there were injured, all relatives, who were in the camp, my grandfather’s family died, only my uncle and his wife survived. About 70 people died in two camps like this. Many people were wounded, even more people were killed. There was at least one person who died in each family, and if not died, but wounded.
I got shrapnel in my back, in my shoulder. One piece of shrapnel sits right in my heart, it is not possible to get it out of there. I was among the first people who got wounded, I didn’t feel the pain, started shouting, looking for my mom. She was about 10 meters away from me, I said I was thirsty, give me some water, I said. When she gave me some water, I felt pain in my back. I started shouting and she told me to lie on my stomach, because my back was bleeding. After that there was another explosion, a heavy one, and then I saw my mother’s head was thrown far away from the body.
My elder sister, Manal Khasan Al-Aja got wounded in her stomach. She was pregnant and lost her child, because the shrapnel damaged her stomach.
Question: “Did Americans help ISIS people somehow? Did they provide them with direct assistance?”
Abdulrazak Mustafa Al-Shihada, Raqqa Governorate, Zor Shamar, 57 years old, peasant
Abdulrazak Mustafa Al-Shihada, Raqqa Governorate, Zor Shamar, 57 years old, peasant: “I’ve always known that ISIS militants were supported by the Americans. I saw it with my own eyes, when an aircraft landed on the Maadan cliff, they took several ISIS militants on board of the aircraft, 2 or 3 persons, and left, there rest were shot from helicopters. So they evacuated the leaders, the commanders and decided to kill the rest.”
Wahid Hussein Al-Ali, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Sabha, 60 years old, peasant
Wahid Hussein Al-Ali, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Sabha, 60 years old, peasant: My house is completely destroyed. All 3 floors. This happened in July 2017. The building of the Sharia court was near my house. Probably they wanted to attack the court building, but instead they destroyed my house. They destroyed my house, but the Sharia court building left intact. This happened because the militants and the coalition are together. The coalition supports the militants. We managed to escape from our house before the attack. The militants’ cars were parked near the building of the Sharia court They didn’t even die, and my house was destroyed.
Pictured: a house of Wahid Hussein Al-Ali, destroyed as a result of an air strike by the American coalition, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Sabha
Pictured: Sukut Al-Ahmed Al-Mohammed Al-Taeh, 36, housewife, Muhlef Musa al-Taeh, 42, odd-jobber, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Jibli, whose house was destroyed as a result of an air strike by the American coalition in July 2017.
Muhlef Musa at-Takeh, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Jibli, 42 years old, handyman: “In July 2017, we were inside the house when the militants began to push forward and the coalition aircraft began bombing our village, hit and destroyed our house. What we saw was just that there were the coalition’s aircraft. They said they wanted to attack the militants, but they attacked us. They destroyed over 10 houses, two of them were taken to ground. We were not injured, because we were out in the field at that time, and about 20 people who were at home during the bombing were killed and wounded.
There were no militants in the village, they started running away randomly, and the strikes continued for another ten days.”
Abdulrazak Mustafa Al-Shihada, Raqqa Governorate, Zor Shamar, 57 years old, peasant
Abdulrazak Mustafa Al-Shihada, Raqqa Governorate, Zor Shamar, 57 years old, peasant: “In July 2017 these coalition forces destroyed all the house, mine wasn’t an exception. They destroyed anything, even the infrastructure of our country, and then they started destroying civilian houses.”
Question: “Were there any militants in your village?”
Abdulrazak Mustafa Al-Shihada, Raqqa Governorate, Zor Shamar, 57 years old, peasant: Only few of them. Very few About 15 people. They didn’t even bombed the militants, they bombed only civilian houses. No militants were killed or injured. The militants lived near my house, they were manufacturing weapons, or did something with these weapons, they didn’t become the target of bombing, but my house got destroyed.
Question: “How many people were affected by those bombings?”
Abdulrazak Mustafa Al-Shihada, Raqqa Governorate, Zor Shamar, 57 years old, peasant: Lots of people died, many were injured - one family included 11 people, they were all killed, the second family had 6 people. All of them died, including the children. There was one more family - 2 persons died there. In total, 13 children died. The youngest was 7 months old, the oldest 7 or 8 years old. Two of my relatives were wounded as a result of the air strike - they were running away, along the street and the bomb exploded.
Sausan Ahmed Al-Jaber, Raqqa Governorate, Ghanem al-Ali, 35 years old, housewife
Sausan Ahmed Al-Jaber, Raqqa Governorate, Ghanem al-Ali, 35 years old, housewife: As soon as I heard that Americans started bombing us, I immediately went away, and when I got back, my house, all 5 rooms, was razed to the ground. My neighbors said that was the result of the US bombing. The house of my father’s brother was also destroyed. There were no militants in our village. Only sometimes they were passing through our village.
Usman Saleh Al-Hallaj, Governorate Deir ez-Zor, Western Shrida, 49 years old, Arabic language teacher at school
Usman Saleh Al-Hallaj, Governorate Deir ez-Zor, Western Shrida, 49 years old, Arabic language teacher at school: “There were no militants in our village, there were militants in the surrounding area, but not in the village itself, and the American coalition bombed my house. We were near the river when they bombed us. After the Syrian Army returned, I also got back to my house and found it completely destroyed. We heard that those were the coalition aircraft. I saw a pickup with the militant near the village, but the coalition aircraft were still bombing the village, they didn’t attack that pickup. This happened on July 17, 2017
On July 16 we all escaped from the village, because we knew that the coalition forces were going to bomb us. Six or seven thousand people lived in the village at that period.
There were lots of people near the river (Euphrates) who left their houses, they were approaching the river crossing site, wanted to get to the opposite bank of the river. Ordinary civilians, posing no threat. From July 17 to 27, 2017 the coalition aircraft started random bombing, attacking any available locations. Randomly. About 10 people from my village were killed as a result of those bombings. On July 24 or 25, Suleiman Humeid al-Abdullah wanted to cross the Euphrates with his brothers, most of the people had already crossed, he was hit by a fragment from an air bomb and he was killed. Later I was told that his father had also died.
Hamada Mahmoud Al-Saju, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Western Shrida, 48 years old, housewife
Hamada Mahmoud Al-Saju, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Western Shrida, 48 years old, housewife: “We were sleeping at night, when the coalition aircraft started bombing us. We escaped from the village. ISIS people lived in the school next to us. As a result of the bombing, the coalition destroyed my house, but they didn’t attack the school nearby. The militants were inside the school. Nobody of the militants was injured. I heard about lots of wounded people after the coalition air strikes, I don’t know if anyone died."
Juriya Muhammad al-Khalaf, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Sabha, 43 years old, housewife
Juriya Muhammad al-Khalaf, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Sabha, 43 years old, housewife: "I live in Sabha, here they established their Muslim Islamic State, called ISIS. On July 23, 2017 the US coalition carried out an air strike, as a result 8 people in my family were killed. We left the city and joined the Zeitun camp, it was located near the olive forest. I wanted to cook a dinner for my children, and then the bomb fell right on the camp. Three of my children died - Mukhammed Nur, 12 years old, his sister Anfal, 8 years old, and the younger sister Ilyaf, 9 years old Besides my children, 5 more children of Khasan Al-Kharman died, the oldest one was 16, and the youngest girl was 3 years old. They were all in the same tent."
Ahmed Hussein Al-Hamid, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Eastern Shrida, 52 years old, peasant
Ahmed Hussein Al-Hamid, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Eastern Shrida, 52 years old, peasant: "The militants lived in our village, but when the air strikes started, all of them escaped. There, in the village, my 17-year-old son and his grandfather, Musal Al-Khamadi, about 70 years old, left. Two rockets hit the house. One got directly into the house from above and the second from the side. My son, Muhammed Ahmed Al-Hamid, got wounded in his leg. We couldn’t take him with because of the wound, we put a splint on the wound, then we brought him to the hospital here, and then we left for Lebanon."
They did not care who was a civilian there, who was a militant, they started bombing us, scared all the people and children, we all ran away. Over 20 houses were destroyed. Children were wounded, and 4-5 people died as a result of that air strike. This happened at the end of July, or beginning of August 2017.
Muhammed Saer Halyaf, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Eastern Shrida, 52 years old, peasant
Muhammed Saer Halyaf, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Eastern Shrida, 52 years old, peasant: I live in the Eastern Shrida. There were no militants in our village. On July 17, 2017 we were out in the field, when an American aircraft started bombing us. We lost 50 sheep. I had two nephews, my brother’s son, Abdul Salam Hamud Khalyaf, and my sister’s son, Bashir Ahmed Al-Isa, both were killed. Both were 8 years old, and my wife, Camilla Ismail Al-Ibrahim (52 years old) was wounded. Eight more people, our neighbors, died. They destroyed my house, my neighbor’s house and my son’s house completely. It is impossible to restore the house.
The American didn’t attack the militants. All the militants left somewhere to Maadan.
Hamda Swey Al-Kidam, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Abu Kemal, 30 years old, housewife
Hamda Swey Al-Kidam, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Abu Kemal, 30 years old, housewife: It happened back in 2017, when the Americans started bombing our city. After the air strike, the wall of the house was destroyed, and I was under the ruins. I got both of my feet burnt and broken, almost torn off, held in place with just a piece of skin. The medical treatment I got was good enough to recover soon. In Hajin hospital the treatment takes time, I had to use crutches for a month to be able to walk, then I was sent to Damascus, where I was operated and Ilizarov frame was installed to help me walk.
The militants were in the other street, 50 meters away from my house. But they didn’t hit them, they hit us. Another old man was killed. I’ve never heard about ISIS militants killed by the Americans. My neighbors died immediately, their guts were all over the place. All the neighbors were injured after a powerful explosion, someone was hit by shrapnel, someone with a stone, and so on. Even my son got wounded in his head.”
Abd Al-Halim Mizar Al-Ali Al-Darwish, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Salhiya, 67 years old, retired
Abd Al-Halim Mizar Al-Ali Al-Darwish, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Salhiya, 67 years old, retired: “My brother Husan Al-Ali Al-Darwish and my father’s second wife Nur Hammoud Assal died immediately as a result of the air strike. This happened in late 2017 My brother was 17, my father’s second wife was 55.
We all took our belongings and ran away. We crossed the cotton field, we simply escaped as we were scared of the air strike hitting our house. In the end, the aircraft attacked us right in this field, out in the open, and some people were killed on the spot. The nearest militant head quarter was 500-600 meters away from us. By this time they had all crossed the river and escaped. There were no militants at all. The aircraft carried our lots of strikes, there were new strikes every two seconds, aircraft flew very low and attacked.”