Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Three to six civilians died in airstrikes on al Subha village, local media reported, though it was unclear whether the Coalition or Russia or the Syrian regime were responsible.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, “five people were martyred and three of them were charred, as a result of shelling by aircraft. It’s not known whether it was Russian or affiliated with the International coalition”.
Ahmad al Shibli blamed the Coalition and put the death toll at six.
Euphrates Post reported that warplanes carried out strikes on “civilian houses in the vicinity of Al-Iman Mosque and the school in al-Subha town.” It said four civilians died and named two. In a later report, however, Euphrates Post pointed towards Russia and named a further (child) victim.
A report by the Syrian Network for Human Rights blamed the Syrian regime for firing missiles on Al-Iman Mosque.
However, in confused reporting, SN4HR later said that the Coalition had struck a high school for girls in al Subha.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (2)
Family members (3)
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (18) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (8) [ collapse]
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Mohammed Saleh Al-Hamarat, killed in an airstrike on Al Subha, July 16th 2017. (via Euphrates Post) -
The aftermath of the alleged airstrikes on Al Subha, July 16th 2017. (via Deir Ezzor24)
-
The aftermath of the alleged airstrikes on Al Subha, July 16th 2017. (via Deir Ezzor24)
-
The aftermath of the alleged airstrikes on Al Subha, July 16th 2017. (via Deir Ezzor24)
-
The aftermath of the alleged airstrikes on Al Subha, July 16th 2017. (via Eurphates Post)
-
Civilians begin to clean up in the aftermath of the alleged airstrikes on Al Subha, July 16th 2017. (via Eurphates Post)
-
The aftermath of the alleged airstrikes on Al Subha, July 16th 2017. (via Eurphates Post)
-
The aftermath of the alleged airstrikes on Al Subha, July 16th 2017. (via Eurphates Post)
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 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 16th-17th: “Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed three weapons caches, two staging areas, and a well-head.”
For July 12th-18th, France report 11 strikes: 7 in Syria (6 in Raqqa) and 4 in Iraq. There were 26 artillery strikes in Mosul. Since September 19th 2014 France has carried out 1322 strikes, with 2090 targets destroyed and 6812 air sorties. Additionally, they’ve carried out 1310 artillery missions.
‘OPÉRATION CHAMMAL SITUATION En Syrie, Dans la ville de Raqqah désormais encerclée, Daech défend fermement les quartiers sous son contrôle en s’appuyant sur un usage intensif de pièges dont le terrain est littéralement saturé pour ralentir la progression des forces démocratiques syriennes (FDS). Cette stratégie impose aux FDS de déminer, pas à pas, chaque rue et chaque maison, sous la menace permanente de tireurs isolés entre autres tactiques adverses. Leur progression reste donc très lente. En Irak, Alors que les opérations de sécurisation de Mossoul se poursuivent, la principale zone de combat se situe désormais à l’Ouest de la ville dans le secteur de Tall Afar. Depuis cette localité, Daech mène des actions de harcèlement par des tirs directs et indirects contre les positions des Forces de Sécurité Irakiennes (FSI) à proximité. L’effort aérien de la coalition s’y porte donc tout en s’accompagnant d’un engagement plus large sur l’ensemble des autres territoires encore sous le contrôle de l’organisation terroriste. Daech poursuit notamment ses actions de harcèlement depuis la poche de Hawijah et dans l’Anbar, région dans laquelle elle dispose de nombreux camps et caches d’armes. ACTIVITÉS DE LA FORCE Cette semaine, les aéronefs ont réalisé 37 sorties aériennes dont 31 de reconnaissance armée et d’appui au sol (CAS), ainsi que 04 missions de recueil de renseignement et 02 de ravitaillement en vol après le déploiement récent d’un C135. La moitié des frappes françaises (6 sur les 11 frappes) a été réalisée dans le cadre de la bataille de Raqqah, les missions de reconnaissance française ou alliée permettant d’en réaliser autant sur le reste du théâtre afin de préparer les manœuvres futures ou de peser sur les réseaux terroristes. La Task Force (TF) Wagram a mené de son côté 26 missions de tir dont 17 de harcèlement et 09 d’éclairement. Le bilan global de CHAMMAL depuis le 19 septembre 2014 s’élève 1322 frappes, 2090 objectifs détruits et 6812 sorties aériennes réalisées. 1310 missions d’artillerie complètent cet engagement cinétique de la France au Levant.’