Airwars assessment
Local sources reported that 13 civilians were killed in addition to 8 ISIL fighters following alleged Coalition airstrikes on residential areas within the district of Al Qa’im in western Anbar Province, next to the Iraqi-Syrian border.
All three sources reporting the incident alleged that the Coalition was responsible.
No further details were available.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Summary
Sources (3) [ collapse]
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention multiple neighbourhoods in the city of Al Qaim (القائم). Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify a precise location. However, the generic coordinates for the city of Al Qaim (القائم) are: 34.3957715, 40.9943684.
Attached to this civilian harm incident is the Pentagon's declassified assessment of this civilian harm allegation, obtained by Azmat Khan and the New York Times through Freedom of Information requests and lawsuits filed since March 2017, 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 the geographical area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.
Original strike reports
For July 15th-16th, the Coalition reported: “Near Al Qaim, one strike destroyed a vehicle.”