Geolocation
Airwars assessment
At least one named civilian was reportedly killed in a Coalition airstrike which hit a bakery in the town of Hamra Blassem village.
According to multiple sources, Mazid Adham Al-Mazid died in the raid and at least two other civilians were injured. One source claimed that ten people died in the attack – though this may have confused the event with one at nearby al Tabaqa that day. Shaam News and others said the strikes had targeted areas around a refinery and a bakery. All sources blamed the US-led Coalition.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Hamra Blassem (حمرة بلاسم), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.878056, 39.197222. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (12) [ 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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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 March 19th-20th it stated: “Near Ar Raqqah, 18 strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units; destroyed 10 fighting positions, six barges, three ISIS headquarters, a tactical vehicle, an IED factory, and a weapons factory; and damaged a supply route.”