Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Two civilians died and five were injured in an alleged Coalition airstrike on Al Karama and Al Ghassaniya, according to a single source.
Activists told the Smart news agency that warplanes “likely” belonging to the Coalition carried out strikes on Al Karama and Al Ghassaniya.
Smart reported that “the planes launched raids on al Karama and Ghassaniya (20 km east of the city of Raqqa), killing two civilians and wounding five civilians, including two children, who were taken to the National Hospital in Raqqa”.
In its monthly civilian casualty report for October 2019 – published on December 5th of the same year – the US-led Coalition assessed this event as ‘non credible’, noting: “March 11, 2017, in Al Karama, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was determined that, more likely than not, civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition action. 983/S498 37SEV251694”.
The Coalition published a location for the assessment identifying to within 100 metres the area where it had focused its review.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Karama and Al Ghassaniyah (الكرامة), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.86808, 39.277394. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (2) [ collapse]
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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March 11, 2017, in Al Karama, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was determined that, more likely than not, civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition action. 983/S498 37SEV251694
Original strike reports
For March 10th-11th, the Coalition reported: “Near Ar Raqqah, nine strikes, engaged three ISIS tactical units; destroyed four fighting positions, two ISIS-held buildings, two watercraft, two weapons factories, a tunnel, a vehicle, and a VBIED; and damaged a supply route.” For March 11th-12th: “Near Ar Raqqah, 12 strikes, engaged three ISIS tactical units and two ISIS staging areas; destroyed three fighting positions, two tanker trucks, a weapons storage facility, a well head, an ISIS-held building, and an anti-air artillery system; and damaged two bridges.”