Geolocation
Airwars assessment
According to the Smart News Network, “two civilians were killed and 15 others were injured by a similar shelling on the village of Safsaf and its farm, near the town of Al-Tabaqa (55 km west of the city of Raqqa)”.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Safsaf (الصفصاف), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.831167, 38.634195. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (1) [ 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
-
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 29th-30th the Coalition reported: “Near Ar Raqqah, six strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; and destroyed five oil tanker trucks, three vehicles, two tractors, an oil trailer, and a tactical vehicle. Near Tabqah, four strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units; and destroyed two fighting positions, a vehicle, and a tactical vehicle.”
For March 30th-31st, the Coalition reported:"Near Ar Raqqah, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a front-end loader. Near Tabqah, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit; and destroyed a vehicle and a UAV."