Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS) reported that two civilians died following airstrikes on Raqqa. Ibrahim Ali al-Bakar (born 1954) and his son Khalil Ibrahim al-Bakar (born 1985) were named as the victims. RBSS blamed the US-led Coalition for the incident.
According to a Facebook post by Amer Alywy the father and son were killed with “artillery shelling” near “Al Sa’a”, however all other sources said they died “as as result of bombing” by the US-led Coalition.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (2)
Summary
Sources (5) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]
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Ibrahim Ali al-Bakar, who was killed along with his son in an alleged Coalition airstrike on Raqqa, on Aug 21st, according to RBSS.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the Clocktower Square area of Raqqah, for which the exact coordinates are: 35.946408, 39.013233.
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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The report contains insufficient information of the time, location and details to assess its credibility
Original strike reports
For August 18th-19th the Coalition reported “Near Raqqah, 19 strikes engaged 17 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 20 fighting positions, an anti-air artillery system, and a command and control node.” It additionally reported that “On Aug. 18, near Raqqah, Syria, 20 strikes engaged 14 ISIS tactical units, destroyed 14 fighting positions, and damaged a tunnel entrance.” And that “On Aug. 18, near Raqqah, Syria, four strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed six fighting positions.” Also that “On Aug. 18, near Raqqah, Syria, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.”
‘Saturday 19 August – Typhoons bombed a truck on the move near Bayji, while Tornados attacked a terrorist position in Raqqa...A Typhoon flight faced a challenging target on Saturday 19 August – a fast-moving truck carrying a group of terrorists across the desert in Iraq, west of Bayji. Despite the vehicle’s speed, a Paveway IV was guided accurately onto the target, destroying it. Tornados continued to provide close air support to the Syrian Democratic Forces in Raqqa, destroying a terrorist strongpoint.’
For Aug 16-22, France report 5 strikes in Iraq and 2 in Syria. Task Force Wagram conducted 60 artillery missions.