Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Four civilians from the same family died in an alleged Coalition airstrike on Markada, according to local sources.
Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently was among some sources which specifically blamed “American raids”.
Saladingate reported that the Coalition strike “destroyed the home of a doctor, Abdul Karim In addition to a house belonging to the Mdulul family”.
Confusingly, in its assessment of the allegation the Coalition noted that “After a review of available information and strike video it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find that civilians were harmed in this strike.” This suggested that it had indeed conducted a strike at Markada on this date.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Marqadah (مرقدا), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.765641, 40.771032. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (17) [ collapse]
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 and strike video it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find that civilians were harmed in this strike.
Original strike reports
The Coalition did not publicly report any airstrike in Hassakah governorate from May 10th-12th.