Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS1130a

Incident date

June 26–30, 2017

Location

Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

35.961086, 39.006606 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”, three 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 “Three members of the Al-Aalu family were killed when the building they were sheltering in was hit by an airstrike.”

Relative of the family, Abu Hamed, told Amnesty “They were first injured in a strike on a nearby building where they were staying, so they fled to another place and were killed there.”

In July 2019, the Coalition announced that it had classed this allegation of civilian harm as 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.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (3)

Ibrahim Mohammed Al-Aalu
30 years old male killed
Abbud Mohammed Al-Aalu
35 years old male killed
Wife of Abbud
female killed

Summary

  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • (1 woman2 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 (1) [ collapse]

  • The destroyed building in which 3 members of the Al Alu family died (via Amnesty International)
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.
  • Stated location
    Raqqa, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SEV006796
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jul 26, 2017
  • Jun. 28, 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, 11 strikes engaged 10 ISIS tactical units, three fighting positions, three
vehicles, a tactical vehicle and a mortar system.

Summary

  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • (1 woman2 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