Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Local sources said that up to six civilians were killed and up to ten more wounded in airstrikes on the town of Subikhan in the countryside of Eastern Deir Ezzor. It was unclear which party was culpable for this civilian casualty event.
At present, two out of sixteen sources hold the US-led Coalition responsible, two blame the Syrian Regime and all others noted the use of “warplanes” and “military aircraft” but did not specify actors.
Two warplanes allegedly attacked the vicinity with one strike.
Baladi News blamed the Coalition for the attack. It said that the “al-’Ali neighbourhood near the water station and civilian houses” was struck.
According to multiple reports, including the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the number of fatalities was expected to rise as there were many civilians seriously injured.
Hasaka Rasd noted that one of the raids occurred “near the house of “Khalif al-Asi” and the second raid at the house of “Ibn Ghweizah”, near the town hall in Subikhan.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (2)
Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention airstrikes on the village of Subaykhan (صبيخان), for which the coordinates are: 34.8606229, 40.6014432. Two separate strikes were reported, the first one in the neighbourhood of Al Ali, near the water station, for which the coordinates are: 34.864017, 40.592465. No damage can be seen in this area on satellite imagery of September 8, 2017. The second strike reportedly targeted the area around the town hall, the location of which Airwars was unable to verify.
Summary
Sources (17) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]
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Aftermath of the airstrike which struck Subikhan,16th August 2017. (via Sharqiya Voice)
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
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After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.
Original strike reports
For August 15th – 16th the Coalition reported “Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike destroyed an ISIS well-head.”
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. ‘
For Aug 16-22, France report 5 strikes in Iraq and 2 in Syria. Task Force Wagram conducted 60 artillery missions.