Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS1635

Incident date

October 17, 2017

Location

Ar Raqqah, Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

35.9505639, 39.0094148 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Euphrates Post, amongst other sources, reported that “the bodies of Ramadhan Sheikh’s family were found in the rubble after being lost for nearly two months in the city of Raqqa. They’re from Jabila neighbourhood in Deir Ezzor”.

DCHRS listed eight victims, including Mr Ramadhan Sheikh, his wife and six of his children.

It is currently unclear at what point during the Raqqah campaign that the victims died. Despite this, Mohammed Ramadhan Sheikh Mohammed (60), has since been identified by a testimony with a relative of a victim that he died on the 27th of September 2017 alongside three other men. It is unclear when his wife and six children were killed. See Airwars incident CS1536 for details.

Ismail Akkush was also named in Airwars incident CS1535, with two other victims. He has also been removed from this incident.

The Amnesty and Airwars’s joint April 2019 report “War in Raqqa: Rhetoric versus Reality” (https://raqqa.amnesty.org/), stated that “An air strike killed four men who were burying their neighbour, Mohammed al-Wadi (47), who had been killed by Islamic State fighters the previous day, in another neighbour’s garden. During the war the dead were buried in parks and gardens, as it was impossible to reach the cemetery, which was outside Raqqa.” The garden belonged to Abdul Rahman al-Qantar.

The father of Abdallah al-Wadi gave a testimony to Amnesty International stating that, “My son was shot dead by Daesh (IS) fighters and the following morning four neighbours were burying him in the garden of a nearby house when an air strike killed all four of them.”

Amnesty International field notes claim that a “small impact radius missile” was fired on the vicinity.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (7)

the wife of Ramadan al-Sheikh
Adult female killed
Child of Mr Ramadhan Sheikh 1
Child killed
Child of Mr Ramadhan Sheikh 2
Child killed
Child of Mr Ramadhan Sheikh 3
Child killed
Child of Mr Ramadhan Sheikh 4
Child killed
Child of Mr Ramadhan Sheikh 5
Child killed
Child of Mr Ramadhan Sheikh 6
Child killed

Geolocation notes

Coordinates released by the Coalition place the event at 35.94804, 39.01182

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    7
  • (6 children1 woman)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition

Sources (7) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • 'The bodies of Ramadhan Sheikh's family were found in the rubble after being lost for nearly two months in the city of Raqqa. They’re from Jabila neighbourhood in Deir Ezzor' Via Euphrates Post
  • Mr. Ramadan Al-Sheikh's family were found underneath this rubble in Raqqa some two months after the battle finished (via Sharqiya Voice)

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

Unknown when deaths occurred.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    7
  • (6 children1 woman)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition

Sources (7) [ collapse]