Conflict

U.S.-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria

Incident Code

CS1265a

Location

Raqqa, Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

35.945704, 38.990602
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”, three civilians were reportedly killed in alleged Coalition artillery strikes 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.

According to the Amnesty report, “Ahmad Mohammed al-Tomash, 30, and his daughter Zaman, 10, and his brother-in-law Ali al-Tomash were killed when an artillery struck their home.”

Additional information by Amnesty said that the strike occurred while the family were having dinner. Furthermore, they gave details of other members of three members of the family who were injured as a result of the artillery.

Nahed, the wife and mother of the victims told Amnesty that “We were sitting with relatives. The shell struck my husband and my daughter were killed and my two sons were badly injured they both lost an eye each. My little one was only 17 days old and he sustained horrific injuries all over.”

Although Amnesty found no precise building location, they reported that the incident occurred near Saf’a Mosque.

Victims

Family members (6)

Ahmad Mohammed al-Tomash
43 years old male electrician killed
Zaman
10 years old female daughter of Ahmad killed
Ali al-Tomash
40 years old male Ahmad's sisters husband killed
Shamsa
30 years old female Ahmad's sister lost her right leg injured
Amar
17 years old male Ahmad's son lost his eye - now has a prosthetic eye - in addition to injures to abdomen, right leg and chest injured
Moh
9 years old male lost his right eye injured

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Strike Type
Artillery
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Civilians reported killed
3
1 Child, 2 Men
Civilians reported injured
3

Geolocation Notes

Before strike. (via Amnesty)

After strike. (via Amnesty)

Military Statements

U.S.-led Coalition Assessment
Suspected belligerent
U.S.-led Coalition
U.S.-led Coalition position on incident
Not yet assessed
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
Not yet assessed.

Media From Sources (6)