Airwars assessment
Between six and ten people were reported killed including 2 or more children, in an “aerial bombardment” on the city of Raqqa. At present nearly all of the sources allege that the US-led Coalition was responsible for the incident.
Significant material destruction was caused to the Baladi Stadium area and the School District of Muawiya in the city of Raqqa, local sources said.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights said that the bombardment by “International Coalition warplanes” had left “several people injured” and that because of this the death toll may increase.
The citizen journalist group, Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, identified two of the civilians killed.
In their monthly civilian casualty reports, the US-led Coalition has indicated that the credibility of this civilian harm allegation is in the process of being assessed.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
- Renim Al-Khalif Child female killed
- Abdul Wahab Al-Khalif Adult male killed with two of grand children killed
Summary
Sources (14) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (14) [ collapse]
Geolocation notes (2) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention the School District of Muawiya (for which the coordinates are: 35.961024, 39.002031) and the Baladi Stadium (35.956943, 39.005857). Based on images published by media (as seen above) Airwars was able to establish the coordinates for the damaged building in the first image (35.955831, 39.004828) and the building on fire (35.956667, 39.007594). Damage to the first building can be seen on satellite imagery between August 13 and August 19, 2017.
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Original strike reports
For August 14th-15th the Coalition reported “Near Raqqah, 27 strikes engaged 19 ISIS tactical units; and destroyed 59 fighting positions, two heavy machine guns, a mortar system, an IED, and a logistics node.” It additionally reported that “On Aug. 14, near Raqqah, Syria, 32 strikes engaged 20 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 18 fighting positions, three IEDs, three heavy machine guns, three command and control nodes, a logistics node, an anti-aircraft artillery system, and an IED factory.”
For Aug 9-15th, France report 2 strikes in Raqqah, Syria – and 13 artillery missions in Mosul.
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.
‘OPÉRATION CHAMMAL SITUATION En Syrie, A Raqqah, la progression des forces démocratiques syriennes se poursuit. Au sud de la ville, la manœuvre de tenaille, amorcée il y a 15 jours, s’est achevée en fin de semaine dernière. Elle a permis de réaliser la jonction des fronts est et ouest. Depuis, les forces démocratiques syriennes ont relancé une offensive vers le centre de la ville mais elles font face à une défense acharnée des combattants de Daech. En Irak, Les forces de sécurité irakiennes poursuivent leurs opérations dans l’objectif de libérer, à terme, le nord de l’Irak. Actuellement, elles focalisent leur effort sur l’encerclement de la ville de Tall Afar. Les combattants de l’organisation terroriste réalisent un travail de valorisation de leurs positions défensives pour se préparer aux combats à venir alors que les populations tentent de fuir la ville. ACTIVITÉS DE LA FORCE Les soldats de l’opération Chammal poursuive leur mission d’appui au profit des unités irakiennes engagées contre Daech. Cette semaine, sur le théâtre, les aéronefs ont réalisé 27 sorties aériennes dont 22 de reconnaissance armée et d’appui au sol (CAS), 1 sortie de ravitaillement ainsi que 4 sorties de recueil de renseignement par Atlantique 2 ou patrouille de Rafale. Deux frappes ont été conduites dans la région de Raqqah en Syrie. Elles ont permis d’appuyer les forces démocratiques syriennes dans leur offensive pour reprendre la ville. La Task Force (TF) Wagram a mené de son côté 13 missions de tir en appui de la 15e division à l’ouest de Mossoul vers Tal Afar. En particulier, les artilleurs ont fourni des feux de harcèlement et d’éclairement pour interdire aux combattants de Daech de mener des actions au sol ou de réaliser des tirs indirects contre les positions irakiennes. Le bilan global de l’activité aérienne depuis le 19 septembre 2014 s’élève 1330 frappes, 2102 objectifs détruits et 6946 sorties. ‘