Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS1429b

Incident date

August 13–18, 2017

Location

Ar Raqqah, Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

35.95817, 39.0028 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Some of the names in this incident were initially reported by several sources under incident number CS1429a (Amjad Ahmed Taha Al-Suwairi, Mohammed Ayman Sweiri and Ahmad Taha Al-Omar Al Suweiri). During investigations of this event for the April 2019 joint Airwars and Amnesty report War in Raqqa: Rethoric versus Reality (www.raqqa.amnesty.org), Amnesty field researchers were able to identify the location (near Baladi Stadium) of the strike in which 18 members of the Sueri family were killed.

The joint Amnesty/Airwars report War in Raqqa: Rethoric versus Reality notes: Seven members of the Al-Sueri family were killed when the building they were sheltering in was hit by an air strike. Eleven other people were also killed in the same strike but have not been named. A relative of the Al-Sueri family, a woman named Amal, spoke to Amnesty researchers: “Many other neighbours were killed in the same strike, including some wives and children of Daesh fighters. Our relatives stayed in the building because there was a water well nearby.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (8)

Ayman Steif Sueri
39 years old male interviewee's cousin killed
Fatima
30 years old female Ayman's wife killed
Khadija Steif Sueri
11 years old female Ayman and Fatima's daughter killed
Mohamed Steif Sueri
9 years old male Ayman and Fatima's son killed
Yassir Steif Sueri
7 years old male Ayman and Fatima's son killed
Ali Steif Sueri
5 years old male Ayman and Fatima's son killed
Hussein Steif Sueri
3 years old male Ayman and Fatima's son killed
Fadiah Steif Sueri
1 years old female Ayman and Fatima's daughter killed

Geolocation notes (2) [ collapse]

  • Image of the building before the strike on August 11, 2017 (via Amnesty International)

  • Image of the building after the strike on August 18, 2017 (via Amnesty International)

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    18
  • (5 children1 woman1 man)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition

Sources (12) [ collapse]

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Non credible / Unsubstantiated
    Insufficient information to assess that, more likely than not, a Coalition strike resulted in civilian casualties.
  • Reason for non-credible assessment
    Insufficient information on the time and location
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Raqqah, Syria
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • May 31, 2018
  • The report contains insufficient information of the time, location and details to assess its credibility.

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For August 29th – 30th the Coalition reported “Near Raqqah, 46 strikes engaged 30 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 66 fighting positions, five heavy machine guns, five vehicles, three medium machine guns, three anti-air systems, three ISIS communications lines, two command and control nodes, an ISIS headquarters, a weapons cache, an ISIS staging area, a VBIED, damaged eight fighting positions and suppressed two heavy machine guns.” It was additionally reported that “On Aug. 29, near Raqqah, Syria, 16 strikes engaged nine ISIS tactical units and destroyed nine fighting positions, a VBIED, a heavy machine gun, and a command and control node.”

Media
from belligerent (1) [ collapse]

  • For Aug 23rd-29th, France report 8 strikes in Iraq and 11 strikes in Syria, plus 46 artillery missions in Tal Afar, Iraq.(@EtatMajorFR)

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    18
  • (5 children1 woman1 man)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition

Sources (12) [ collapse]