Geolocation
Airwars assessment
On August 23, 2017, six members of the Lafi family were among up to 11 civilians reported killed in air raids on the city of Mayadin, according to local media – though reports were conflicted as to whether the Coalition, the Syrian regime or even Russia were responsible.
Although Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that four civilians from one family were killed, five civilians from the same family were identified. Other sources such as Jisir TV and Shaam News claimed six civilians from the same family were killed.
DeirEzzor24 identified the names of five victims killed in the incident in a post on Twitter/X. Two people, either women or girls, Manar Ragheb Al-Lafi and Noor Ragheb Al-Lafi were killed alongside a man named Ahmed Ragheb Al-Lafi, who was likely their brother. A woman named Donia Ali Al-Atish was killed alongside her unnamed son. Donia was married to Amar Ragheb Al-Lafi, likely the brother of the other victims.
Syrian Network for Human Rights shared an image of Ahmed Ragheb Al-Lafi from before the incident.
A Facebook post by Step News Agency holds the US-led Coalition responsible for the attack, however, multiple other sources did not identify the culprit.
Activists for Smart News described an “unidentified aircraft” that targeted a neighbourhood of Mayadeen under the control of the so-called Islamic State Organisation. The Smart report also noted that details of the incident were limited, due to the security measures on the internet, imposed by the so-called Islamic State Organisation.
According to Shaam News Network, “several civilians houses” were targeted, and local sources said that civilians were wounded but did not give a figure on how many. Some of the wounded were trapped under rubble, according to local reports.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights blamed the regime for the deaths of members of the Al-Lafi family.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, however, it was unclear whether the warplanes responsible for the strike belonged to the Coalition or Russia.
@MOAZALSHAMY and @1thayir put the death toll as high as 11 and blamed “intensive military raids”.
In April 2019, the Coalition announced that it had classed this allegation of civilian harm as non-credible, noting: “After review of all available strike records it was determined that more likely than not civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition strike.”
The incident occured around dawn.
The victims were named as:
Family members (5)
Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention residential buildings being struck in the city of Al Maydeen (الميادين), for which the coordinates are: 35.016667, 40.444167. Sources mention the incident happened in the vicinity of Al Tawba mosque (التوبة), of which the exact location is unknown, others mention the Al Jisir (bridge) area, for which the coordinates are: 35.020000, 40.468611.
Summary
Sources (27) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]
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Ahmed Ragheb Awwad Lafi, killed along with members of his family in an airstrike on Mayadin. August 23rd 2017. (via Euphrates Post)
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
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Aug. 23, 2017, near Al Mayadin, Syria via Airwars report. After review of all available strike records it was determined that more likely than not civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition strike.
Original strike reports
For August 23rd – 24th: “Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes destroyed three ISIS headquarters and an ISIS-held building.”