Conflict

U.S.-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria

Incident Code

CS1048a

Location

Raqqa, Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

35.954842, 38.980328
Accuracy: Neighbourhood/area

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

In the Amnesty and Airwars’s joint April 2019 report “War in Raqqa: Rhetoric versus Reality”, four 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.

The report stated that “Dhiab al-Rusly and his two sons aged nine and 11 and his elderly father, were killed when their home was hit by an air strike.”

A neighbour and eye witness, Khalil, told Amnesty in a testimony that “They were good people, there was no reason to kill them. It must have been a mistake.”

No precise building was identified for the site of the strike.

In July 2019 the Coalition announced that it had assessed this allegation of civilian harm to be non-credible, noting: “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.”

Victims

Family members (4)

Dhiab al-Rusly
45 years old male killed
Muayad
9 years old male son of Dhiab killed
Iyad
11 years old male son of Dhiab killed
Riadh al-Talfah
66 years old male father of Dhiab's wife killed

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Civilians reported killed
4
2 Children, 2 Men

Military Statements

U.S.-led Coalition Assessment
Suspected belligerent
U.S.-led Coalition
U.S.-led Coalition position on incident
Non credible / Unsubstantiated
Reason for non-credible assessment
No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
Civilian deaths conceded
None
Civilian injuries conceded
None
Stated location
Raqqa, Syria
Location accuracy
100 m
MGRS coordinate
37SDV982789
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
Near Raqqah, 12 strikes engaged 10 ISIS tactical units; and destroyed six fighting positons, three vehicles, three tactical vehicles, two mortar teams, a command and control node and a mortar cache.
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2019-07-26
Original Source
Jun. 20, 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.