Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS1286a

Incident date

July 22, 2017

Location

ساحة شماس, Ar Raqqah: North of Shammas Square, Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

35.94898, 39.01557 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A family of 15, including eight children and three women, died in an alleged Coalition airstrike on their home in Raqqa, according to local sources. Reports – all of which pointed towards the US-led Coalition – named the victims as the Al-Zanna family. According to SHRC, they were displaced from the city of Tadef in the Aleppo countryside.There was some confusion as to the exact location of the family’s home which was reportedly struck. Qasioun and Oman Daily said that it was in Al Mansour Street; Gate ahram and @7UFCmSxd0IUBffH reported that it was in Al Shammas square, in the center of Raqqa; while according to Smart and Almodon, it was near the museum (Al Muthaf). Sources said that other civilians were wounded in the strike and were likely still trapped under the rubble.

During investigations of this event for the April 2019 joint Airwars and Amnesty report War in Raqqa: Rethoric versus Reality (www.raqqa.amnesty.org), Amnesty field researchers established the location as Shammas Square. However, hours earlier another Coalition airstrike had killed nine members of the same family who were sheltering in a basement two streets away, near the museum (Al Muthaf), which is likely where the confusion in the reporting stems from. The report on the strike near the museum can be found here: CS1268b. The strike at Shammas Square killed 15 members of the Al-Zanna family, who were sheltering on the ground floor of a four-storey building. Amnesty researchers spoke to a relative of the family, Abdellatif: “The family had tried to leave Raqqa but Daesh (IS) prevented them, and Daesh also kicked them out of home near the old mosque. So, they took shelter in whatever place they thought they would be safe.” 1-3 Unnamed people were also injured in the strike.

Amnesty field researchers found the date of the strike to be July 22, 2017, rather than on July 28, as Airwars had previously reported.

In July 2019 the Coalition announced that it had classed this allegation of civilian harm to be non-credible. Their monthly 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 local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (15)

Khaled Mohammed Rasool Al Zanna
54 years old male killed
Muna Mahmoud Al Zanna
51 years old female Khaled's wife killed
Mohamed Khaled
20 years old male Khaled and Muna's son killed
Mohammed Mohammed Rasool Al Zanna
48 years old male Khaled's brother killed
Asma’ Ahmad Abdel Karim al Zanna
42-43 years old female Mohammed Mohammed’s wife killed
Yassir
15 years old male Mohammed Moh and Asma’s child killed
Yusef
1-10 years old male Mohammed Moh and Asma’s child killed
Salam
1-10 years old male Mohammed Moh and Asma’s child killed
Manar
1-10 years old female Mohammed Moh and Asma’s child killed
Manal
1-10 years old female Mohammed Moh and Asma’s child killed
Marian Al Zanna
71 years old female Khaled's aunt killed
Mahmoud Mohammed
77 years old male Marian's husband killed
Khalil Mahmoud al-Zana
Adult male Marian and Mahmoud's son killed
Mariam
8 years old female Khalil's daughter killed
Mahmoud
5 years old male Khalil's son killed

Geolocation notes (2) [ collapse]

  • House in which 15 members of the Al Zanna family were killed, before the strike (July 19, 2017)

    Imagery:
    Amnesty International

  • House in which 15 members of the Al Zanna family were killed, after the strike (July 29, 2017)

    Imagery:
    Amnesty International

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    15
  • (8 children3 women4 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1–3
  • 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

Sources (38) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (5) [ collapse]

  • Mohammed al-Zana, killed with his wife and five children in an alleged Coalition airstrike in Raqqa, July 27th (via sharqiya .voice)
  • Mr. Mahmud al-Zana and his wife, "Remi al-Zana", killed in an alleged Coalition airstrike in Raqqa, 28th July 2017. (via Euphrates)
  • The wife and 5 children of Mohammed al-Zana, killed in an alleged Coalition airstrike in Raqqa, July 27th (via sharqiya .voice)
  • Victims of an alleged Coalition airstrike on Raqqa, 28th July 2017. (via Al Raqqa Alkher)
  • Khaled Mohammed Rasul Al Zanna (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.
  • 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
    37SEV016779
    Military Grid Reference System

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Jul 26, 2019
  • Jul. 22, 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

For July 28th-29th: “Near Raqqah, 12 strikes engaged 10 ISIS tactical units; destroyed eight fighting positions, an artillery system, and a vehicle; and suppressed a fighting position.” It additionally reported that “On July 28, near Raqqah, Syria, 16 strikes engaged 12 ISIS tactical units, destroyed an anti-air artillery system, and damaged seven fighting positions.”

UK Military
  • English
    /
    Original

‘Friday 28 July – a Tornado and Typhoon pair struck a Daesh position in Raqqa…Another mixed Tornado and Typhoon pair assisted the SDF in Raqqa on Friday 28 July, and a Paveway IV was used to destroy a terrorist position.’

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    15
  • (8 children3 women4 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1–3
  • 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

Sources (38) [ collapse]