Conflict

U.S.-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria

Incident Code

CS1361

Location

Ar Raqqah, Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

35.9505639, 39.0094148
Accuracy: City

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: S1195)

Orient news and Smart news reported the death of as many as ten civilians and wounding of others in alleged Coalition airstrikes on Raqqa’s Tawasu’iya, Fardous, and Bedo neighbourhoods. Amnesty has since conducted field research in Raqqa and we understand that this figure might possibly be lower than first reported. 

There was, however, uncertainty over the date of Zakaria Khalid Al Bakhit Fathallah’s death. On August 11th, Usama Al Talep, reported that he was killed “yesterday”, while Media Center – Palmyra, again reporting on August 11th, said he died “a few days ago”. Some other sources reported his death on August 13th but did not say when he died. Reports added that the victim was displaced from Palmyra.

Baladi added that Haj Mahmoud Abdullatif Al-Humaidi and Khansa’ al-Qantar (a woman) were killed in “artillery shelling on Al Badaoui lane in the city of Raqqa” – however, it has since been identified through extensive field research by Amnesty International, that Khansa’ al-Qantar was killed on the 12th of August.

Since Amnesty International conducted extensive field research, it was identified by a relative “Mohammed”, that Khansa’ al-Qantar was killed on the 12th of August.

According to the Amnesty and Airwars’s joint April 2019 report War in Raqqa: Rhetoric versus Reality, “A 40-year-old woman, Khansa’ al-Qantar, was killed in the garden of her home by shrapnel from an artillery shell which struck the street outside her house.”

A relative gave a testimonial to an on the ground Amnesty researcher. He said,”Look at the holes which the artillery shrapnel made in the metal gate. You can imagine such what shrapnel does to the human body. It kills.”

In addition to this, it has been identified by Airwars and Amnesty that Zakaria Hmeidi was not killed in this strike but in a separate incident not previously created by Airwars. The victim has been removed from the dataset.

Victims

Individuals

male killed
Child female killed
Haj Mahmoud Abdullatif Al-Humaidi
Adult male killed
Muhammad Nur Suwayha
male killed

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Civilians reported killed
6–8
1 Child, 1 Man
Civilians reported injured
2

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention several neighbourhoods in the North West of Raqqa: Tawassoui’ya, Al Ferdos, and Al Badou. The generic coordinates for this area are: 35.9599103, 38.997345.

Neighbourhoods of Tawassoui'ya, Al Ferdos, and Al Badou in North West Raqqa

Imagery: © 2018 Google

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
Insufficient information on the time and location
Civilian deaths conceded
None
Civilian injuries conceded
None
Stated location
near Raqqah, Syria
Location accuracy
100 m
MGRS coordinate
37SDV997795
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
For August 8th-9th the Coalition reported “Near Raqqah, 22 strikes engaged 15 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 20 fighting positions, an IED, ISIS engineering equipment, a logistics node, and a command and control node.”
UK Military Strike Report
‘Wednesday 9 August – Typhoons demolished a Daesh-held building in Raqqa…A Typhoon flight saw action over Raqqa on Wednesday 9 August; the Syrian Democratic Forces reported coming under fire from a large building against which our aircraft conducted a successful attack using two Paveway IV guided bombs.’
French Military Strike Report
For August 3rd-9th, France report 1 strike in Iraq and 1 in Syria, along with 9 artillery strikes in Mosul. (via EtatMajorFR)
French Military Strike Report
France reports that in the past week (4th -11th) it carried out 31 sorties, including 24 Army reconnaissance and Ground Support (CAS), as well as 4 intelligence reports by Atlantic 2 or Rafale patrol. Two strikes were carried out in the Hassaka region of Syria and the Al Qaim region of Iraq. They destroyed ISIL storage sites and weapons caches.
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2018-06-28
Original Source
The report contains insufficient information of the time, location and details to assess its credibility

Media From Sources (1)