Conflicts

Russian Military in Syria
U.S.-led Coalition in Iraq & Syria

Incident Codes

CS414 RS1788

Location

الرقة‎, al Dalla roundabout, Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

35.9505639, 39.0094148
Accuracy: City

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: July 23, 2025

(Previous Incident Codes: S366R1462RS1787)

A heavy air raid on Ar Raqqah left up to 36 civilians dead according to multiple reports. While most blamed Russia, there were some claims that the US-led Coalition was responsible. It has since denied involvement.

According to Raqqa is Being Slaughtered, the afternoon raids were concentrated mainly near the city’s al Dalla roundabout. Euphrates Post said the target was the al A’jili building, while Our Raqqa Media Group described “raids near the Odessa hotel and al Dalla roundabout and there’s a massacre and large number of cars and shops burnt.” It also said 60 people were injured.

ISIL’s media wing blamed Russia, saying it had conducted five raids on the city. Step News was among those who initially blamed the Coalition. But it later put out a correction noting “the raid that targeted al Dalla roundabout was by Russian planes and not coalition planes. It resulted in the deaths of more than 15 people and injury of dozens.”

The dead were named by local monitors.

In an emailed response to a report submitted by Airwars on this and other incidents in December 2016, Coalition officials said the event was presently assessed as ‘not credible.’

 

Victims

Family members (3)

Aya
7 years old female killed
Judy Mahmoud Abadllah al Qaim
3 years old female killed
Sahar Mahmoud Abadllah al Qaim
2 years old female

Family members (1)

Ibrahim al Satiti's four children
killed

Individuals

Abdallah al Ahmad
male killed
Adult male killed
Mohammad Hassan al Assa’d
male killed
Abd al Qader al Darda
Adult male killed
Child male killed
Child male killed
Turki Mohammad Khalaf al Hassan
male killed
Adult male killed
Adult male killed
Adult male killed
Fatima Fadil al Qaim
24 years old female killed
male killed
Rashid Khaled Kalo
10 years old male killed
Qassem al Khudar
male killed
Abd al Qader al Kuwati
Adult male killed
Ibrahim al Matar
male killed
Adult male killed
Abd al Razzaq al Ibrahim
Adult male killed
Ibrahim Jassem al Salman
male killed
Ibrahim Jassem al Salman's brother
male injured
36 years old male killed
Majed al Suweiri
male killed

Key Information

Country
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Contested
Civilians reported killed
18–36
3–14 Children, 2 Women, 16 Men
Civilians reported injured
12–60

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of al Dalla roundabout (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
No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
Civilian deaths conceded
None
Civilian injuries conceded
None
Stated location
near Raqqah, Syria
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
For December 11th-12th, the Coalition reported that “Near Ar Raqqah, three strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL chemical weapon facility and an armored vehicle.”
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2017-08-04
Original Source
After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area of the reported civilian casualties.
Russian Military Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Russian Military
Russian Military position on incident
Not yet assessed
Russian Military Strike Report
Russia has not reported any specific strikes between December 1st – 31st 2016. On 6 January 2017, Russia, however, reported: “Since November 8, 2016, the aircraft carrier group of the Northern Fleet consisting of the heavy aircraft carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov, the heavy nuclear missile cruiser Pyotr Velikiy, the large ASW ship Severomorsk, as well as auxiliary vessels of the Black Sea Fleet, has been fulfilling counterterrorist missions on the territory of Syria”, adding that ”in the course of two months of their participation in the combat actions, naval aviation pilots have carried out 420 combat sorties, 117 of them were night ones.”

Media From Sources (36)

Sources (58)