Geolocation
Airwars assessment
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, “International Coalition warplanes bombed Al-Raqqah city after midnight on Monday – Tuesday. This resulted in the death of two persons at least and the injury of others”.
The monitor said fighting was taking place “in areas in the vicinity of the centre of Al-Raqqah city, and in the north-east of the city and areas in the western section of it.”
No further details are currently available.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the city of Raqqa (الرقة), for which the coordinates are: 35.9505639, 39.0094148. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (1) [ collapse]
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
-
The report contains insufficient information of the time, location and details to assess its credibility
Original strike reports
For September 17th – 18th the Coalition reported “Near Raqqah, 30 strikes engaged 10 ISIS tactical units, destroyed 44 vehicles and 13 fighting positions, damaged 13 supply routes and a VBIED, and suppressed two fighting positions.” It additionally reported that “On Sept. 17, near Raqqah, Syria, seven strikes destroyed six ISIS fighting positions and a logistics node.” And that “On Sept. 17, near Raqqah, Syria, three strikes destroyed seven fighting positions.”
For September 19th - 20th, the Coalition reported: "Near Raqqah, 30 strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units and destroyed 28 fighting positions, three vehicles, two ISIS communications infrastructure items and an ISIS headquarters" It later added "On Sept. 18, near Raqqah, Syria, 42 strikes engaged 23 ISIS tactical units; destroyed 23 fighting positions, eight vehicles, three VBIEDs, two ISIS UAS systems, and a command and control node; and suppressed four fighting positions" and "On Sept. 19, near Raqqah, Syria, 15 strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed 17 vehicles, 13 fighting positions, and suppressed a fighting position"