Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Fifteen civilians were reported killed and 8 wounded in an alleged Coalition raid, according to local sources.
Yaqein said that 15 civilians, including women and children, were killed in a Coalition strike that hit homes. Iraqi Spring Media Center also reported that 15 civilians were killed and that 8 were injured. They too blamed the Coalition.
However, in its February 2017 civilian casualty report the Coalition noted: Dec. 1, 2016, near Al Qa’im, Iraq, via social media report: After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in this geographic area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the city of Al Qa’im (القائم), for which the generic coordinates are: 34.3957715, 40.9943684. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (3) [ collapse]
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.
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
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After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in this geographic area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.
Original strike reports
For November 30th-December 1st, the Coalition reported no strikes near al Qaim but reported “Near Rawah, two strikes engaged an ISIL VBIED staging area and destroyed a bunker.”