Conflict

U.S.-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria

Incident Code

CS099

Location

الرقة‎, Ar Raqqah, Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

35.9505639, 39.0094148
Accuracy: City

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: S098)

In the last of three reported Raqaa incidents for July 11th, a civilian firefighting team in the city reportedly died in a coalition airstrike.

According to Al Araby, the Coalition “launched eight raids targeting Daesh sites on the outskirts of Raqqa city. These hit the areas of Al Hamrat, Al Sina’a [Industry] and the Faculty of Science near the shrine of Aweys Al Qarni, killing an entire fire crew team and igniting fires at the target locations.”

Raqqa is Being Slaughtered published several images of fires burning from raids on the city  that night.

In its civilian casualty report for October 2019 – published on December 5th of that year, the Coalition assessed this event as ‘not credible, asserting: “ July 11, 2015, in Raqqah, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties. 2802/CS099 37SEV008785”.

Officials published a location for the event to within 100 metres of where they had remotely assessed the incident.

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Strike Status
Contested strike
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Civilians reported killed
4
4 Men

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Ar Raqqah (الرقة‎), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.9505639, 39.0094148. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Military Statements

U.S.-led Coalition Assessment
Suspected belligerent
U.S.-led Coalition
U.S.-led Coalition position on incident
Non credible / Unsubstantiated
Reason for non-credible assessment
No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
Civilian deaths conceded
None
Civilian injuries conceded
None
Stated location
in Raqqa, Syria
Location accuracy
100 m
MGRS coordinate
37SEV008785
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
The coalition has confirmed numerous airstrikes in the immediate vicinity. For July 10th-11th 2015 it notes: “Near Ar Raqqah, three airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, an ISIL structure and destroyed an ISIL excavator.”
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
July 11, 2015, in Raqqah, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties. 2802/CS099 37SEV008785

Media From Sources (4)