Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS685

Incident date

April 12, 2017

Location

معدان, Ma'adan, Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

35.751769, 39.61639 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Two civilians died and five were wounded in an alleged Coalition airstrike on Ma’adan, according to local media.

According to Micro Syria, “seven civilians were killed and wounded by a bombardment of warplanes likely belonging to the international coalition”.

Al Araby, which also pointed towards the Coalition said that “two civilians were killed and five wounded, including two women”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Ma’adan (معدان), for which the coordinates are: 35.751769, 39.61639, east of Raqqa. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Civilians reported injured
    5
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition

Sources (6) [ collapse]

CJTF–OIR Declassified Assessment and Press Release

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.

Declassified Assessment Press Release

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Non credible / Unsubstantiated
    Insufficient information to assess that, more likely than not, a Coalition strike resulted in civilian casualties.
  • Reason for non-credible assessment
    No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None
  • Stated location
    near Ma’adan, Syria
    Nearest population center

Civilian casualty statements

US-led Coalition
  • Dec 28, 2017
  • 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. (1317)

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

For April 11th-12th, the Coalition reported: “On April 11, near Raqqa, eight strikes engaged an ISIS staging area, weapons storage cache, and command and control node.”

For April 12th-13th: “Near Raqqa seven strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed a vehicle and a fighting position.”

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Civilians reported injured
    5
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition

Sources (6) [ collapse]