Geolocation
Airwars assessment
The home of a local sheikh was bombed during a lunch party, killing as many as 20 civilians, according to local sources. Though most reports point to this being a Coalition action, one other blames the regime while a further report alleges that Russia was responsible.
Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently initially reported that at least 11 people died when unidentified warplanes struck the house of Sheikh Daham Ka’a-ishish in the village of al Ghazli. It later updated the death toll to 15 and said the strikes were carried out by “the international coalition.”
The Syrian Observatory also put the death toll at 15 and attributed the strikes to the Coalition. Several other sources cited the Coalition.
However, an account associated with the Sheikh’s tribe reported that six missiles from Russian warplanes caused the destruction.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Network reported that “government forces” shelling on Al Ghazli was to blame for the massacre. Several News agencies, including ARA News and Al Jisr cited ISIL-controlled al A’maq agency, reporting a death toll of 20 due to coalition attacks. Step News Agency reported “the international coalition aircraft had launched several air raids on Friday targeting the home of” the Sheikh, killing twenty “women and children” and “wounding scores… all of them civilians.“
On October 14, Raqqa is Being Silently Slaughtered posted an initial list of 11 victims:
A woman named as Wazna al Sheen (initially reported killed) was also pulled alive from the rubble two days later.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (1)
Family members (3)
Family members (3)
The victims were named as:
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Ghazli (الغازلي), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.30755, 39.02292. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (20) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (7) [ collapse]
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Photo of the Hamish al Salam [Abu Ali] (via K'ak'a Anzi)
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Photo of the aftermath of the airstrike (via RBSS)
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Photo of the aftermath of the airstrike (via RBSS)
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Photo of the aftermath of the airstrike (via RBSS)
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Photo of the aftermath of the airstrike (via RBSS)
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Photo of the aftermath of the airstrike (via RBSS)
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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After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area of the reported civilian casualties.
Original strike reports
For October 13th-14th the Coalition reported that “Near Ayn Isa, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position.” For October 14th-15th, the Coalition reported “Near Ayn Isa, one strike engaged an ISIL headquarters building and a staging area.”