Incident Code

CS238

Location

الرقة‎, Ar Raqqah, Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

35.9505639, 39.0094148
Accuracy: City

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: S214a)

A British schoolgirl Kadiza Sultana – who had run away with two friends to join ISIL – was killed in a Coalition strike on an ‘ISIL finance centre’ – a local bank.

Sultana reportedly lived in an apartment above the building targeted that day. The US has not admitted civilian deaths related to this strike, only to one on an ‘ISIL headquarters building’ (see above.)

Raqqa is being Slaughtered noted at the time that “air raids at dawn today targeted the Islamic bank opposite al Rashid Park and Bank Bemo in al Thakana which led to the total destruction of Bank Bimo.” Photographs showed the six-story building totally destroyed.

In the first of their September 2020 civilian casualty reports, the US-led Coalition assessed reports that they were responsible for civilian harm in this strike as “non-credible”, stating that after a review of all available records it was determined that, more likely than not, civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition action.

Victims

Invidivuals

Child female British national killed

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Civilians reported killed
1
1 Woman

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Ar Raqqah (الرقة‎), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.9505639, 39.0094148. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Military Statements

U.S.-led Coalition Assessment
Suspected belligerent
U.S.-led Coalition
U.S.-led Coalition position on incident
Non credible / Unsubstantiated
Reason for non-credible assessment
Other
Civilian deaths conceded
None
Civilian injuries conceded
None
MGRS coordinate
37SEV008782
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
For June 21st-22nd the Coalition reported “Near Ar Raqqah, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, an ISIL headquarters, and an ISIL finance center and destroyed two ISIL oil pump jacks.”
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2020-09-09
Original Source
June 22, 2016, in Raqqah, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was determined that, more likely than not, the alleged civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition action. 2980/CS238 37SEV008782

Media From Sources (2)