Incident Code

CS437

Location

دبسي عفنان, Debsi Afnan, Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

35.8175348, 38.2162857
Accuracy: Village

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: S389)

Between two and four civilians including a child were alleged killed in a Coalition airstrike on Debsi Afnan, according to some local sources.

Al Natek reported that four non-combatants died in a Coalition strike. And the Syrian Network said “at least two civilians including a child died in International Coalition warplanes missiles fired on Debsi Afnan village.” According to Syria News Desk, “Three civilians were killed and 4 others injured when an international coalition plane targeted with a raid a car they were in on the Aleppo – Raqqa motorway near the town of Debsi Afnan which is under IS control in the western Raqqa countryside. The raid led to the burning of the car entirely.”

SY_reported put the death toll at four and said that a woman was also injured. They blamed the Coalition.

Smart News said that the Coalition targeted “a civilian car near Al-Qadesiya street which killed three civilians and wounded others.”

According to Raqqa Post, “Coalition warplanes carried out a raid in the village of Debsi Afnan, at Al-Qadesiya street near the stands for selling oil. Two people died: a 12-year-old boy and an old man.”

Arabstoday and Asrar7days also reported the death of the child and man, and pointed towards the Coalition.

However while both Step News and ISIL mentioned Coalition strikes on Debsi Afnan, neither mentioned civilian casualties.

 

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
2–4
1 Child
Civilians reported injured
1–4

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Debsi Afnan (دبسي عفنان), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.8175348, 38.2162857. 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 Debsi Afnan (Raqqah), Syria
Location accuracy
1 m
MGRS coordinate
37SDV2933963917
U.S.-led Coalition Strike Report
For January 10th-11th 2017, the Coalition reported that “Near Ar Raqqah, five strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed a front-end loader, a VBIED, a fighting position, and a tunnel entrance. Near Ayn Isa, three strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed a vehicle, five fighting positions, a command and control node, a VBIED, and a heavy machine gun.”
U.S.-led Coalition Civilian Casualty Statement
2017-09-29
Original Source
After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.

Media From Sources (1)