Incident Code

CS1370

Location

الرقة‎, near Raqqah, Syria, Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

35.95809, 39.00333
Accuracy: Within 100m (via Coalition)

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: S1197a)

In an incident not previously tracked by Airwars, the Coalition later confirmed the deaths of two civilians in an event near Raqqa.

Their October 2017 civilian casualty report noted: “During a Coalition strike that engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS-held building, it was assessed that two civilians were unintentionally killed.”

Airwars had monitored a civilian harm event in the nearby al Badu neighbourhood on this day (see CS1369). Coalition officials have indicated that they don’t believe these allegations to be referring to the same strike as the confirmed self-report was not in the neighbourhood mentioned in the allegations of CS1369. However, they were unable to match the victim observed in the credible self-report to a specific name – so there is a possibility. They have currently assessed CS1369 to be non-credible due to there not being any corroborating strikes in the geographical area.

This is one of the three events in which the Coalition has confirmed to have caused civilian casualties on August 13th — see CS1368 and CS1371.

In July 2019, the Coalition provided Airwars with the location of this incident, accurate to within a 100 metre box.

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Confirmed
A specific belligerent has accepted responsibility for civilian harm.
Civilians reported killed
2

Geolocation Notes

Prior to the Coalition releasing the MGRS for this incident, Airwars had geolocated it to the nearest city at 35.9505639, 39.0094148

Military Statements

U.S.-led Coalition Assessment
Known belligerent
U.S.-led Coalition
U.S.-led Coalition position on incident
Credible / Substantiated
Given reason for civilian harm
No reason given
Civilian deaths conceded
2
Civilian injuries conceded
None
Stated location
near Raqqah, Syria
Location accuracy
100 m
MGRS coordinate
37SEV003793
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
For August 12th-13th the Coalition reported *Near Raqqah, 15 strikes engaged 14 ISIS tactical units and destroyed three command and control nodes, two ISIS headquarters, an ISIS UAS launch site and a vehicle. It additionally reported that “On Aug. 12, near Raqqah, Syria, 21 strikes engaged 16 ISIS tactical units and destroyed a fighting position, an anti-aircraft artillery system, and a mortar system.” And that “On Aug. 12, near Raqqah, Syria, one strike destroyed an ISIS fighting position.”
French Military Strike Report
For Aug 9-15th, France report 2 strikes in Raqqah, Syria – and 13 artillery missions in Mosul.
French Military Strike Report
In the past week, (11th-18th) France conducted 27 sorties, including 22 armed reconnaissance and ground support (CAS), 1 refueling outlet and 4 intelligence gathering sorties by Atlantic 2 or Rafale patrols. Two strikes were carried out in the Raqqah region of Syria. They helped support the Syrian democratic forces in their offensive to retake the city.
UK Military Strike Report
‘Sunday 13 August – Typhoons eliminated three terrorist positions in Raqqa, including machine-gun and mortar teams…then conducting attacks on Sunday [Aug 13th] which eliminated three more terrorist positions in the city, including a strongpoint adjacent to the now-abandoned Daesh “Immigration Office”, and machine-gun and mortar teams.’
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2017-10-27
Original Source
Aug. 13, 2017, near Raqqah, Syria, via self-report. During a Coalition strike that engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS-held building, it was assessed that two civilians were unintentionally killed.