Geolocation
Airwars assessment
At least one man died – along with perhaps two families – in an alleged Coalition airstrike on Kabish, according to local sources.
One man was named as a victim of a Coalition strike by Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently. RFS Media put the death toll at two – also blaming the Coalition.
However according to @SY-Reporter, two families died in a Coalition strike.
In January 2019, the Coalition announced that it had classed the event as non credible due to a lack of available evidence of civilian harm: “After a review of available information and strike video it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find civilians were harmed in this strike.”
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (11) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Kabish (كبش), Raqqa governorate, for which the coordinates are: 36.1308644, 38.7842273.
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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Apr. 16, 2017, near Kabish, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of available information and strike video it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find civilians were harmed in this strike.
Original strike reports
For April 15th – 16th, the Coalition reported: “Near Raqqah, six strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units, destroyed an ISIS bridge, and damaged an ISIS supply route. Near Tabqah, 11 strikes engaged nine ISIS tactical units, destroyed seven fighting positions and an ISIS vehicle.”
For April 16th – 17th: the Coalition reported: “Near Raqqah, five strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions and a mortar system. Near Tabqah, five strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and suppressed three ISIS tactical units.“
‘Saturday 15 April – Typhoons attacked a Daesh-held building west of Raqqa, while Tornados assisted Iraqi forces inside western Mosul…On Saturday, a further Tornado patrol supported Iraqi forces engaged in a firefight with Daesh positioned in a large building in western Mosul. Two Paveway IVs silenced the terrorist fire. Meanwhile, Typhoons continued their support for the SDF as they pushed east from Tabqah towards Raqqa, bombing a terrorist-held building.’