Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Ten civilians including two women and six children from two families died in an alleged Coalition airstrike on Saif al Dawla, according local sources.
Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS) reported the “massacre of two families, killing 10 people, in a Coalition strike in the neighbourhood of Saif Al Dawla at midnight last night.” It named victims from the al Noujoum family.
The journalist, Mohab Naser, published a very graphic A’amaq video showing the aftermath of a strike with seriously injured victims, including children. We do not know whether the footage is of this specific strike, however, it says that there were several Coalition strikes on July 18th.
Amnesty and Airwars’s joint April 2019 report “War in Raqqa: Rhetoric versus Reality” reported that “Ten members of two families – six children, two women and 2 men – where killed when a Coalition air strike targeted the second floor apartment of a four-storey building where they were sheltering.”
Oday, a survivor of the raid made a testimony to Amnesty saying, “We were sheltering on the ground floor but that morning Daesh (IS) members ordered us to go to the second floor and they went to the roof. After they returned to the ground floor an air strike hit us on the second floor, killing everyone except me.”
The incident occured in the morning.
The victims were named as:
Family members (5)
Family members (5)
Summary
Sources (11) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (11) [ collapse]
-
Muntadhar, Munaf and Mayar (via Amnesty International)
-
Munthadhar (left) and Mayar (via Amnesty International)
-
Munthadhar (via Amnesty International)
-
Ruweida A'llah Sweidan (2nd left) (via Amnesty International)
-
Ahmad Yusef al-Musighli (via Amnesty International)
-
Haya Yusef al-Musighli (via Amnesty International)
-
Ruweida A'llah Sweidan (via Amnesty International)
-
Mayar (via Amnesty International)
-
Najjum and Musighli house in 23 February Street (via Amnesty International)
-
Najjum and Musighli house in 23 February Street (via Amnesty International)
-
Najjum and Musighli house in 23 February Street (via Amnesty International)
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 civilians were harmed in this strike.
Original strike reports
For July 18th-19th: “Near Raqqah, 12 strikes engaged 11 ISIS tactical units and destroyed nine fighting positions, two vehicles and a tactical vehicle.” It additionally reported that “On July 18, near Raqqah, Syria, 18 strikes engaged 12 ISIS tactical units; destroyed 18 fighting positions, an anti-aircraft artillery system, a weapons cache, and a sniper position; and damaged a fighting position and a supply route.”
For July 19th-20th: “Near Raqqah, eight strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units; destroyed six fighting positions, a supply cache, and a tunnel; and suppressed a mortar team.” It additionally reported that “On July 19, near Raqqah, Syria, 19 strikes engaged nine ISIS tactical units; destroyed 34 fighting positions, two IEDs, and a VBIED; and damaged four fighting positions and a mortar position.” And also that “On July 19, near Raqqah, Syria, two strikes destroyed two ISIS fighting positions and a storage facility and suppressed a mortar system.”
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.’