Geolocation
Airwars assessment
An adult civilian male named as Awwad Al-Thallaj died when his vehicle was struck in a reported Coaltion airstrike at al Tabaqa.
Raqqa is being Slaughtered noted the “Martyrdom of Awwad Al-Thallaj due to coalition warplanes shelling targeted his car near the Euphrate Damn near Tabaqa.”
In an emailed response to a report submitted by Airwars on this and other incidents in December 2016, Coalition officials said the event had been “Sent to CJTF for further review.”
The local time of the incident is unknown.
- Awwad Al-Thallaj Adult male killed
Summary
Sources (4) [ collapse]
Attached to this civilian harm incident is the Pentagon's declassified assessment of this civilian harm allegation, obtained by Azmat Khan and the New York Times through Freedom of Information requests and lawsuits filed since March 2017, 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 and strike video it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find civilians were harmed in this strike.
Original strike reports
For December 22nd-23rd 2016 the Coalition reported that “Near Ar Raqqah, eight strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units; destroyed six oil storage tanks, two VBIEDs, and destroyed a technical vehicle; and damaged a supply route, a fighting position, and a truck.”
Danske øjne styrer fly sikkert gennem Irak og Syrien “Hvis man forestiller sig at skulle lande i en lufthavn eller flyve, hvor flyvelederne sidder med lukkede øjne, så har man situationen, hvis vores radar ikke snurrede rundt.” 23-12-2016 – kl. 11:00 Af radarbidraget og ACW I en amerikansk enhed arbejder et mindre radarbidrag fra Flyvevåbnet, hvor de holder styr på luftrummet over Irak og Syrien i kampen mod ISIL. Kingpin bliver kontrolcentralen kaldt, hvorfra det amerikanske flyvevåbens 727th Expeditionary Air Control Squadron sammen med både australiere, englændere og danskere er øjne, øre og guidende hænder for flytrafikken. 24 timer i døgnet holder de øje med luftrummet over Afghanistan, den Arabiske Gulf, Irak og Syrien. De danske udsendte fra Flyvevåbnets Air Control Wing koncentrerer sig om Irak og Syrien og går under kaldenavnet Gotham, hvor de blandt andet anvender den danske radar på Al Asad Airbase i Irak, som er en del af det samlede danske radarbidrag. Men de trækker også på en række andre radarer, radioer og overvågningsfly, så der konstant kan produceres et opdateret luftbillede, så flyene kan blive støttet i deres missioner. – Vi er et relativt lille bidrag på i alt cirka 30 mand med operatører og radarteknikere, men effekten af bidraget er enormt. Hvis man forestiller sig at skulle lande i en lufthavn eller flyve, hvor flyvelederne sidder med lukkede øjne, så har man situationen, hvis vores radar ikke snurrede rundt, siger chefen for radarbidraget, oberstløjtnant Kim Krogh.’
‘Friday 23 December – Typhoons bombed a terrorist position north of Tabaqah in Syria; in Iraq, Tornados hit a weapons cache north-east of Haditha, and a Reaper destroyed an artillery gun near Mosul…The next day [Dec 23rd], Typhoon FGR4s, armed with Paveway IV guided bombs, patrolled over Syria and successfully attacked a terrorist position which SDF fighters had encountered to the north of Tabaqah, near Lake Assad. In Iraq, Tornados used Paveway IVs to destroy a weapons stockpile some 50 miles north-east of Haditha, whilst a Reaper remotely piloted aircraft assisted the Iraqi operations in Mosul; its crew conducted a thorough check for civilians who might be at risk before a successful coalition air strike destroyed another weapons stockpile. The Reaper then delivered an attack using one of its own Hellfire missiles to destroy an artillery piece loaded on a trailer – as with the tank, the terrorists had attempted to hide the gun under a tarpaulin in thick woodland to the north-west of the city, but to no avail.’