Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS1381

Incident date

August 17, 2017

Location

الجميلي, Jamili Street, Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

35.957956, 39.002033 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One man, identified by the Syrian Human Rights Committee as Saeed Mohammad Nashif was killed in alleged air or artillery strikes on the Jamili District of Raqqa, according to local sources.

Activists who spoke to Smart News said that a civilian was killed by “artillery shelling of the Syrian Democratic Forces on the city’s Jumaili district” though they did not name the person.

Airwars understands that only the Coalition have access to artillery in Raqqa.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Age unknown male killed

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention the area Jumaili (الجميلي) in the city of Raqqa, for which the coordinates are: 35.957956, 39.002033. 

  • Area of Jumaili (الجميلي) in the city of Raqqa

    Imagery:
    © 2019 Google

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition

Sources (2) [ collapse]

CJTF–OIR Declassified Assessment and Press Release

Attached to this civilian harm incident is a provisional reconciliation of the Pentagon's declassified assessment of this civilian harm allegation, based on matching date and locational information.

The declassified documents were obtained by Azmat Khan and the New York Times through Freedom of Information requests and lawsuits filed since March 2017, and are included alongside the corresponding press release published by the Pentagon. Airwars is currently analysing the contents of each file, and will update our own assessments accordingly.

Declassified Assessment Press Release

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Non credible / Unsubstantiated
    Insufficient information to assess that, more likely than not, a Coalition strike resulted in civilian casualties.
  • 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
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • May 31, 2018
  • The report contains insufficient information of the time, location and details to assess its credibility.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For August 16th-17th, the Coalition reported: “Near Raqqah, 20 strikes engaged 16 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 17 fighting positions, a logistics node, an IED, a command and control node, an ISIS UAS and a vehicle.” It additionally reported that “On Aug. 16, near Raqqah, Syria, 23 strikes engaged 16 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 18 fighting positions, eight command and control nodes, two tunnels, two heavy machine guns, an ISIS UAS, an anti-aircraft artillery system and an ISIS line of communication.” And that “On Aug. 16, near Raqqah, Syria, five strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two command and control nodes and a mortar system.”

UK Military
  • English
    /
    Original

‘Thursday 17 August – Tornados and Typhoons attacked a mortar near Tall Afar, and two machine-gun teams and a sniper in Raqqa...With the Iraqi forces advancing on Tal Afar, a mixed Tornado and Typhoon pair provided close air support on Thursday 17 August. A coalition surveillance aircraft spotted a terrorist mortar, and was able to guide our aircraft into a successful attack with a Paveway IV. A second mixed pair maintained operations over Raqqa, and used Paveways to destroy one sniper and two machine-gun teams.’

French Military
  • English
    /
    Original

For Aug 16-22, France report 5 strikes in Iraq and 2 in Syria. Task Force Wagram conducted 60 artillery missions

French Military
  • English
    /
    Original

In the past week, (11th-18th) France conducted 27 sorties, including 22 armed reconnaissance and ground support (CAS), 1 refueling outlet and 4 intelligence gathering sorties by Atlantic 2 or Rafale patrols. Two strikes were carried out in the Raqqah region of Syria. They helped support the Syrian democratic forces in their offensive to retake the city.

‘OPÉRATION CHAMMAL SITUATION En Syrie, A Raqqah, la progression des forces démocratiques syriennes se poursuit. Au sud de la ville, la manœuvre de tenaille, amorcée il y a 15 jours, s’est achevée en fin de semaine dernière. Elle a permis de réaliser la jonction des fronts est et ouest. Depuis, les forces démocratiques syriennes ont relancé une offensive vers le centre de la ville mais elles font face à une défense acharnée des combattants de Daech. En Irak, Les forces de sécurité irakiennes poursuivent leurs opérations dans l’objectif de libérer, à terme, le nord de l’Irak. Actuellement, elles focalisent leur effort sur l’encerclement de la ville de Tall Afar. Les combattants de l’organisation terroriste réalisent un travail de valorisation de leurs positions défensives pour se préparer aux combats à venir alors que les populations tentent de fuir la ville. ACTIVITÉS DE LA FORCE Les soldats de l’opération Chammal poursuive leur mission d’appui au profit des unités irakiennes engagées contre Daech. Cette semaine, sur le théâtre, les aéronefs ont réalisé 27 sorties aériennes dont 22 de reconnaissance armée et d’appui au sol (CAS), 1 sortie de ravitaillement ainsi que 4 sorties de recueil de renseignement par Atlantique 2 ou patrouille de Rafale. Deux frappes ont été conduites dans la région de Raqqah en Syrie. Elles ont permis d’appuyer les forces démocratiques syriennes dans leur offensive pour reprendre la ville. La Task Force (TF) Wagram a mené de son côté 13 missions de tir en appui de la 15e division à l’ouest de Mossoul vers Tal Afar. En particulier, les artilleurs ont fourni des feux de harcèlement et d’éclairement pour interdire aux combattants de Daech de mener des actions au sol ou de réaliser des tirs indirects contre les positions irakiennes. Le bilan global de l’activité aérienne depuis le 19 septembre 2014 s’élève 1330 frappes, 2102 objectifs détruits et 6946 sorties. ‘

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition

Sources (2) [ collapse]