Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Two to four civilians were reportedly killed in Coalition air or artillery strikes on the al Jumaili neighbourhood of Raqqa City. There was some conflict of information regarding the culprit, though most sources blamed the US-led Coalition.
Sources that did not mention the Coalition referred to “artillery shelling” and “airstrikes”. Airwars understands that only the Coalition have access to artillery in Raqqa.
According to Diralzour and Raqqa Documentation and Legal Network, two of the victims named were situated inside their home when the house was hit by airstrikes. Raqqa is Being Slaughtered also named an additional civilian male.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (13) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]
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Mustafa Hussein Al-Hamoud (via Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently)
Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention the neighbourhood of Jumaili (الجمیلي), for which the coordinates are: 35.957956, 39.002033. Satellite imagery shows the destruction of a building in that area between 6 and 19 September, 2017, for which the coordinates are: 35.958282, 39.000639.
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 September 9th – 10th the Coalition reported “Near Raqqah, 34 strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units; destroyed 21 fighting positions, 16 vehicles, four heavy machine guns, two command and control nodes, a logistics node, and engineering equipment; and suppressed six fighting positions.”
For September 10th - 11th the Coalition reported •Near Raqqah, 23 strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units; destroyed 20 fighting positions, two logistics nodes, and a vehicle; and suppressed two fighting positions" It later reported, "Additionally, 15 strikes consisting of 21 engagements were conducted in Syria and Iraq on Sept. 10 that closed within the last 24 hours. On Sept. 10, near Raqqah, Syria, 11 strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units; destroyed 14 vehicles, three fighting positions, a logistics node, and an anti-air artillery system; and suppressed a fighting position"
‘Monday 11 September – Tornados destroyed two sniper positions in Raqqa, and attacked a Daesh-held compound and terrorists on a motorcycle near Dayr az Zawr…A flight of Royal Air Force Tornados supported the Syrian Democratic Forces fighting in Raqqa on Monday 11 September, when Paveway IV guided bombs were used to destroy two sniper positions. A second Tornado flight patrolled north-east of Dayr az Zawr, where they attacked a group of terrorists in a compound with a Paveway IV. Survivors of the attack then attempted to move to another position on a motorcycle, but were successfully engaged with a Brimstone missile.’