Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS1163a

Incident date

July 5, 2017

Location

Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

35.95483, 39.00495 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

In the Amnesty and Airwars’ joint April 2019 report “War in Raqqa: Rhetoric versus Reality”, 11 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 by Amnesty/Airwars stated that “A coalition airstrike killed seven members of the Hayoun family – four children, a woman and two men – in their sleep as they were sheltering in a four storey building.”

According to the field notes, the airstrike struck the house next door to the Hayoun family, however the house they were sheltering in was damaged, and seven family members were killed. They were on the ground flour. The house targeted was empty at the time of the raid.

The interviewee, was father of a victim and the restaurant owners brother, told Amnesty in a testimony that “This strike killed my daughter, her children, her husband and his brother. They were innocent civilians. Many innocent people were killed in this war.”

In July 2019, the Coalition announced that it had assessed this allegation of civilian harm to be non-credible. Their civilian casualty report noted: “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 incident occured during the night.

The victims were named as:

Family members (7)

Reem Hayoun
30 years old female interviewees daughter killed
Ibrahim Ibn Adnan Hayoun
35 years old male Reem's husband killed
Adnan
6 years old male Ibrahim and Reem's son killed
Ooja
4 years old male Ibrahim and Reem's son killed
Ahmad Ibn Adnan
36 years old male Ibrahim's brother killed
Sidra
13 years old female Ibrahim's daughter killed
Adnan
11 years old male Ibrahim's son killed

Geolocation notes (2) [ collapse]

  • Before the strike on July 2, 2017

    Imagery:
    Amnesty International

  • After the strike on July 6, 2017

    Imagery:
    Amnesty International

Summary

  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    7
  • (4 children1 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
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.
  • Reason for non-credible assessment
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Stated location
    in Raqqa, Syria
    Nearest population center
  • Location accuracy
    100 m
  • MGRS coordinate
    37SEV004789
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jul 26, 2019
  • Jul. 5, 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, 21 strikes engaged 15 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 13 fighting positons,
two vehicles, two heavy machine guns, a front-end loader, a UAV site and a sniper position.

Summary

  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    7
  • (4 children1 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