Airwars assessment
Six to 17 civilians were reportedly killed and as many as hundreds more wounded in the villages of Ya’rob and al Sakhoura in the western Raqqa countryside. However sources were conflicted as to whether they died in a Coalition airstrike or artillery shelling by YPG forces.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the only source thus far, alleged that the Coalition was responsible for airstrikes, but reported that there was also shelling by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which could have been responsible for the deaths also. Most sources blamed YPG shelling.
24Raqqa put the death toll at nine but said that hundreds more were wounded.
Madar Daily put the death toll as high as 17.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (3)
- Bassel Ismail Al Sukran Age unknown male killed
- Majd Ismail Al Sukran Age unknown male killed
- Bashar Ismail Al Sukran Age unknown male killed
Family members (2)
- Ibrahim Ali Al Aslan Age unknown male
- Hassan Ali Al Aslan Age unknown male
- Ali Al Awwad Al Huweija Age unknown male killed
- The wife of Ammar Khalaf Al Khawija Age unknown female killed
Summary
Sources (22) [ collapse]
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.
Original strike reports
For May 12th- 13th the Coalition reported: “Near Raqqah, five strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, a front-end loader, an ISIS crane, and a house-born improvised explosive device.”