Geolocation
Airwars assessment
A boy named as Amjad Mohammed was reportedly killed along with eleven alleged Daesh militants, in a fresh coalition airstrike on the outskirts of Ar Raqaa.
According to SOHR, the child may have belonged to ‘Cubs of the Caliphate’ – an Islamic State indoctrination unit for young children in the city. One report claimed he died as a result of “airstrikes carried out by coalition warplanes on the farms of al-Asadiyyeh area, to the north of Raqqah city.” Another report said he was begging near a bridge in the north of the city when it was struck by the coalition.
Separately, an adult male non-combatant named as Sari Ibrahim Al A’akar also reportedly died as the result of a coalition strike on Mankalan bridge.
In an unusual move, the coalition reported that while both its own aircraft and those of the Assad regime had bombed Raqaa on July 11th-12th, “The nearest Coalition airstrike to Ar Raqqa city-center was 6.75 km away and targeted four bridges.”
Islamic State later published a propaganda video in which it said one adult male non-combatant had died in the US airstrikes. The organisation said that all bridges into the city had been destroyed, forcing locals to use side roads to get in and out.
In July 2017 the Coalition said it had classed the event as non credible on grounds of available evidence of civilian harm: “July 12, 2015, near Raqqah, Syria, via Airwars report: After a review of available information and strike video it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find that civilians were harmed in this strike.”
Given reports from the time, Airwars contionues to assess this event as likely – though is seeking additional claridication from the Coalition.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (9) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ 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
-
After a review of available information and strike video it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find that civilians were harmed in this strike.
Original strike reports
For July 11th-12th 2015 CJTF-OIR additionally notes that: “Near Ar Raqqah, six airstrikes struck five ISIL staging areas and an ISIL personnel carrier destroying an ISIL t-wall and two ISIL excavators.” An additional note pointed out that: “Separately, Syrian aircraft conducted airstrikes within Ar Raqqah near the timeframe of Coalition forces. These Syrian airstrikes were not coordinated with the Coalition. The nearest Coalition airstrike to Ar Raqqa city-center was 6.75 km away and targeted four bridges.”