Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Up to 21 civilians died and dozens more were wounded in an alleged Coalition airstrike on an internet cafe in Huneida, according to multiple local media.
All sources pointed towards the Coalition. Death counts varied but were in the range of 12-15 or more, with Almadenah putting the figure as high as 17. @infoctma said that “US Coalition planes” were responsible.
The Violations Documentation Center named 15 victims from Sukhna in Homs killed in an alleged Coalition strike on an internet cafe in Hunaida. Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently named additional additional victims.
In its June report the Coalition denied responsibility: “24. April 7, 2017, near Hunaydah, Syria, via social media: After a review of available information it was assessed that no Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographic area that correspond to the report of civilian casualties.”
No other parties have been suggested as responsible for this action – and Airwars presently continues to determine this to be a likely Coalition event, though is seeking additional information.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (4)
Family members (4)
Family members (2)
Family members (2)
Family members (3)
The victims were named as:
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Hunaida (هنيدة), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.83234, 38.69938. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (35) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]
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Mohammed Mahmoud Al-Mohammed Al-Alawi, who was alleged killed in an Coalition airstrike on April 7th 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. (1295)
Original strike reports
For April 6th-7th, the Coalition reported: “Near Ar Raqqah, four strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units; and destroyed four fighting positions and a tactical vehicle.”
For April 7th-8th, the Coalition did not report any airstrikes near Ar Raqqah.