Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS1445a

Incident date

September 4, 2017

Location

Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

35.955976, 38.999776 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

In the Amnesty and Airwars’s joint April 2019 report “War in Raqqa: Rhetoric versus Reality”, 15 civilians were reportedly killed in alleged Coalition airstrikes in Raqqa. Although Airwars assesses single sourced incidents as “weak”, researchers have assessed this incident “fair” due to the depth of material provided by Amnesty.

Only five of the victims were identified due to the fired which left bodies charred and unrecognisable.

The report stated that “At least 15 civilians were killed when an air strike struck a fuel tanker parked outside the home of five-year-old Inas Hassan Hammoud while she was playing with the neighbours’ daughters, two girls aged four and three. The three children were killed, along with at least 12 relatives, neighbours and passers-by.”

There is no precise date of the strike, however Amnesty researches have suggested it was between August 18th and September 4th 2017.

The mother of a named victim, Umm Inas, told Amnesty in a testimony that “My little girls was playing with the neighbours’ daughters, as she often did. Missiles struck the street outside the house, setting a fuel tanker parked here on fire and killing everyone. The bodies were reduced to shreds and charred.”

The mother later went on to make an emotional statement, “She was my little angel; always happy, always smiling. She went (died) in the fire that left me nothing of her. I think of her every day all day, as if she was still here”.

In July 2019 the Coalition announced that it had assessed this allegation of civilian harm to be non-credible. Their monthly civilian casualty report noted: “After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (3)

Rimas
4 years old female mum is Hasna Rajab killed
Lilas
3 years old female mum is Hasna Rajab killed
Uncle of their mum
Adult male mum is Hasna Rajab killed

The victims were named as:

Inas Hassan Hammoud
5 years old female child of interviewee killed
Ahmad al-Najjar
25 years old male son of owner of basement flat next door killed

Summary

  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    15
  • (3 children2 men)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • Inas, killed in an alleged Coalition airstrike between 18th August and 4th September 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Lilas, killed in an alleged Coalition airstrike between 18th August and 4th September 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Rimas, killed in an alleged Coalition airstrike between 18th August and 4th September 2017. (via Amnesty)
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
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Stated location
    in Raqqa, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SEV000791
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jul 26, 2019
  • Aug. 18, 2017, in Raqqa, Syria, via Amnesty International report. After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

Near Raqqah, 19 strikes engaged 17 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 20 fighting positions,
an anti-air artillery system, and a command and control node.

Summary

  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    15
  • (3 children2 men)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition