Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS558

Incident date

March 8, 2017

Location

الكرامة, Al Karama, Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

35.86808, 39.277394 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One named civilian and a possible second victim were reported killed in a Coalition airstrike (or possible SDF artillery strike) on al Karama.

According to Asharqiya the strike hit at or near a clinic in the town. And the |Syrian Observatory said that “A person was killed by bombing by warplanes believed to belong to the International Coalition on areas in al-Karama town in the eastern countryside of Al-Raqqah yesterday.”

A young male victim was named by Raqqa is Being Slaughtered as Juma’a Mahmoud Hamad al Hito. Qasioun reported the death of two civilians – though according to Smart News these were the result of SDF shelling of the town.

A report by the New York Times includes a quote from a Special Operations official who acknowledged its strike cell had hit targets in the town on March 8 and killed 16 fighters, but denied that any civilians had died. It is unclear if the official is referring to this incident or CS561 which occurred in the same town on March 9.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Juma’a Mahmoud Hamad al Hito
Child male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • (1 child)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    US-led Coalition, Syrian Democratic Forces
  • Belligerents reported killed
    16

Sources (11) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • Juma’a Mahmoud Hamad al Hito (via Raqqa is Being Slaughtered)
  • A reported Coalition strike on al Karama March 8th killed at least one civilian (Photo via Raqqa is Being Slaughtered)

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For March 7th-8th the Coalition stated: “Near Ar Raqqah, four strikes destroyed three fighting positions, two tunnels, a vehicle repair facility, and a tactical vehicle.”
For March 8th-9th, the Coalition reported that “Near Ar Raqqah, nine strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed three weapons caches, two mortar systems, an artillery system, an ISIS training center, a vehicle, a VBIED, and a fighting position.”

Syrian Democratic Forces Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Democratic Forces
  • Syrian Democratic Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • (1 child)
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected belligerents
    US-led Coalition, Syrian Democratic Forces
  • Belligerents reported killed
    16

Sources (11) [ collapse]