Airwars assessment
The wife and child of an ISIL fighter reportedly died in a Coalition airstrike on al A’keirshi village. The militant – named as Abu Habibia Al-Maghribi – was either killed or injured in the attack. According to Arabs Today his wife was a member of Al-Khansa’a which is part of ISIL’s women’s police force. Their daughter was also killed.
Smart, who also pointed to the Coalition, reported: “The source explained that the planes bombed a house in the village, wounding ‘Abu Habiba Al Maghribi’ [Morroccan], in addition to his wife and his daughter. The wife was part of al Khansaa battalion which is part of al Hisba women’s office [sort of women’s police].
The source pointed out that the foreign members of IS in the village are angry accusing the residents of dealing with the international coalition forces given that the missile specifically targeted this house and not another one.”
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Summary
Sources (3) [ 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 it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.
Original strike reports
For March 17th-18th, the Coalition reported that “Near Ar Raqqah, five strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units, destroyed three fighting positions, two ISIS tactical vehicles, and an ISIS weapons factory; and damaged a bridge.”
‘Saturday 18 March – Tornados destroyed a terrorist headquarters near Raqqa in Syria…Although the immediate primary operational focus remains on supporting the liberation of western Mosul, operations against Daesh in Syria have not been neglected, with RAF aircraft conducting intensive armed reconnaissance missions there. A Daesh headquarters was identified at a small building five miles east of Raqqa, and on Saturday 18 March, this was destroyed by a direct hit from a Paveway IV released by a Tornado flight.’