Incident Code
Incident Code
Incident Date
Location
Geolocation
Geolocation
Airwars Assessment
(Previous Incident Code: S1208)
In a major civilian casualty incident, up to 20 civilians reportedly died following alleged US-led Coalition attacks on the Malahi area in Raqqa. The Coalition later confirmed having unintentionally killed three and injured nine in this strike.
Local media reported on the death of 15 or more civilians after “Muawiya bin Abi Sufian” school was struck. An additional five civilians were reported killed in a house in “Mallah” in the same area. The Northern Syrian Observer (NSO) attributed the deaths to “International Coalition bombings”, as did all other sources tracked. NSO reported that the victims were buried in a park adjacent to the amusement area.
Airwars understands that Mallah, Amusement and Malahi all refer to one word and one area – best translated as Malahi.
In March 2018, the Coalition conceded it had caused civilian harm in this strike: “Aug. 17, 2017 near Raqqah, Syria via self-report. During a Coalition strike to engage an ISIS fighting position a scooter inadvertently entered the area of the strike and it was assessed that three civilians were unintentionally killed.”
The Coalition provided Airwars with the location for this incident, accurate to within a 100 metre box. The location given placed the event in the Malahi area.
Key Information
Geolocation Notes
Reports of the incident mention the Amusement Park (الملاهي) area in Raqqah, for which the coordinates are: 35.959355, 39.005692. The Coalition later provided coordinates for this incident: 37SEV001795 (Military grid reference with 100 m accuracy).