Geolocation
Airwars assessment
An unspecified number of civilians were wounded in an alleged Coalition strike on Al Mayadin, according to local sources.
Euphrates Post reported that “international Coalition raids targeted the refineries in the desert of the city [Al Mayadeen] injuring several civilians.” Alamawi also blamed the Coalition, while Omran_mo reported that Coalition jets destroyed a number of IS cars in the area.
In September 2019 the Coalition announced that it had classed this allegation of civilian harm as non-credible. Their monhtly civilian casualty report noted, “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.”
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the city of Al Mayadin (ميادين), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.016667, 40.444167. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (4) [ 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 25, 2017, in Al Mayadin, 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.
Original strike reports
For March 25th-26th the Coalition reported: “Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes destroyed two pump jacks and an oil rig; and damaged a pump jack.”