Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Five civilians were killed and nine injured in Coalition strikes on Raqqa, according to a single source.
According to Smart News, “Several sources told Smart Monday night that a number of civilians and elements of the Islamic State were killed and wounded by an aerial bombardment and by artillery of the International Coalition on the cities of Raqqa and Tabaqa, northern Syria. A medical source from the city of Raqqa reported that five civilians were killed and nine others were wounded by raids carried out by coalition aircraft.”
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the city of Ar Raqqah (الرقة), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.9505639, 39.0094148. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (3) [ 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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The report contains insufficient information of the time, location and details to assess its credibility
Original strike reports
For March 26th-27th, the Coalition reported: “Near Ar Raqqah, nine strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed a well head, a heavy transport equipment piece, a vehicle, an oil storage tank, an ISIS headquarters, a VBIED, and a fighting position; and damaged two supply routes.”
For March 27th-28th, the Coalition reported: "Near Ar Raqqa, five strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; and destroyed eight barges, a vehicle, a front-end loader, and a truck and trailer."
"Monday 27 March – Typhoons supported operations in Mosul, while Tornados eliminated a mortar team in eastern Syria…Armed reconnaissance missions continued over the weekend, gathering intelligence on Daesh positions in Syria and Iraq. On Monday 27 March, Typhoons again patrolled over Mosul, and used one Paveway IV against a building from which Daesh fighters were continuing to engage Iraqi forces. Over eastern Syria, two Tornados attacked a building in a remote area south of Hasakah, from which a Daesh mortar team was operating against Syrian Democratic Forces."