Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Up to five civilians were reported injured in a Coalition strike, though it later denied any civilians casualties had occured in the event.
According to ISIL’s media arm “three women and a child were wounded in American warplane shelling in Al-Azizeya, south west of Al-Rae’i.”
A Coalition report issued December 1st 2016 insisted that “Oct. 3, 2016, near Mar’a, Syria: Further examination affirms that only Da’esh fighters were killed in the strike.”
Given reported British actions in the area that day, Airwars flagged the incident to the UK’s MoD which said ” we can confirm that there was no UK involvement” in the event. However given the limited information given by the MoD on its strikes in Syria that day, Airwars has requested further clarification.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Summary
Sources (3) [ 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
-
Further examination affirms that only Da’esh fighters were killed in the strike.
Original strike reports
For October 2nd-3rd the Coalition reported that “Near Mar’a, seven strikes engaged five ISIL tactical units and destroyed three fighting positions, two VBIEDs, a heavy machine gun, and a vehicle.”
‘Monday 3 October – Typhoons attacked a Daesh-held building in eastern Syria, while Tornados hit a terrorist communications installation in northern Iraq…Royal Air Force Typhoons provided close air support to Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), attacking Daesh positions in eastern Syria on Monday 3 October. A group of terrorists were identified holding a building in a rural area. The SDF held back while the Typhoons conducted a successful strike, demolishing the target with Paveway IV guided bombs.