Airwars assessment
An adult male and his youngest daughter were killed in suspected US-led Coalition strikes on al Der’iya neighbourhood, west of Raqqa city. Out of the eleven sources collected two did not specify an actor and referred only to “shelling”, whilst nine sources blamed the US-led Coalition.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (2)
- Nidal Mohammed Shehadeh Adult male killed
- Youngest daughter of Nidal Mohammed Shehadeh Child female killed
Summary
Sources (11) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]
Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention the neighbourhood of Al Dariya (الدرعیة) in the city of Raqqa. The exact boundaries of this neighbourhood are unclear, it covers a large area in the west of the city, for which the generic coordinates are: 35.947222, 38.991389.
Attached to this civilian harm incident is the Pentagon's declassified assessment of this civilian harm allegation, obtained by Azmat Khan and the New York Times through Freedom of Information requests and lawsuits filed since March 2017, 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 24th-25th the Coalition reported “Near Raqqah, five strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed five fighting positions.” It additionally reported that “On Aug. 24, near Raqqah, Syria, 41 strikes engaged 33 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 33 fighting positions, an ISIS headquarters, three vehicles, an IED, an anti-air artillery system, and a command and control node.” And that “On Aug. 24, near Raqqah, Syria, 11 strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units and destroyed five fighting positions, two command and control nodes, and a heavy machine gun.”
Thursday 24 August – Typhoons and Tornados struck four targets in Raqqa, and ten targets around Tal Afar, including a truck-bomb factory…The following day [August 24th], Typhoons and Tornados struck a further four positions in Raqqa with Paveways, including a sniper and a machine-gun team.