Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Local media reported that two civilians died and a third was wounded in an alleged Coalition airstrike on Hunayda.
According to @Newsjorf, the Coalition carried out raids on the grain silos area of Hunaida. Rasd-Sy also mentioned ‘mutual artillery exchanges’ between ISIL and SADF ground forces – though it was unclear whether this specifically refered to Hunayda.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Summary
Sources (4) [ collapse]
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Hunayda (هنيدة), for which the coordinates are: 35.83234, 38.69938. According to one source, the grain silos area was targeted. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify this area.
Attached to this civilian harm incident is the Pentagon's declassified assessment of this civilian harm allegation, obtained by Azmat Khan and the New York Times through Freedom of Information requests and lawsuits filed since March 2017, 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. (1326)
Original strike reports
For April 13th-14th, the Coalition reported: “Near Raqqa, four strikes engaged nine ISIS tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions. Near Tabqah, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units, destroyed a fighting position, and damaged a supply route.“
For April 14th – 15th: “Near Raqqa, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed three fighting positions and a weapons cache. Near Tabqa, one strike suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.“
‘Thursday 13 April – Typhoons supported the Syrian Democratic Forces, hitting seven terrorist positions north of Raqqa in Syria…The following day [April 13th], Typhoons patrolled over Raqqa. North of the city, Syrian Democratic Forces reported being in very close combat with a group of seven, strongly defended, Daesh positions. Despite heavy cloud, the Typhoons were able to destroy one position on their first pass, then having confirmed the exact location of the other six targets, struck all of those simultaneously with Paveway IVs on a second pass.