Geolocation
Airwars assessment
One civilian male died in an alleged Coalition airstrike on the corn dryer area in Raqqa, according to local sources.
Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently reported that “Mohamad al Salem was martyred following international coalition raids this afternoon on the area of the corn dryer north of the city of Raqqa.”
The Syrian Network for Human Rights also named the victim, reporting that he was killed when “international Coalition warplanes missiles fired on the al Mojaffaf area north of Raqqa city on April 1, 2017.”
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
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 (12) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]
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Mohamad al Salem, killed in an alleged Coalition strike on Raqqa, April 1st (via RBSS)
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Photo showing the air raids that targeted the area around al Sinbla, north of the city centre of Raqqa (posted by Euphrates Post on April 2nd, 2017).
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 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 31st-1st April, the Coalition reported: “Near Ar Raqqah, four strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed a weapons storage facility and a VBIED; and damaged a bridge.”
For April 1st – April 2nd, the Coalition reported: “Near Ar Raqqah, five strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed eight barges and five fighting positions; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.”