Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Three civilians were reportedly killed when an alleged Coalition airstrike hit an ISIL car belonging to the religious police, known as Hasba, killing four of its members.
The men were reportedly arrested by the religious police and were being transported in their car when they were killed.
A number of local sources named two of the men, meanwhile the third man was not identified.
One of the ISIL members killed was named as Abu Hazifa al Ansari.
One man, named as Eyad al Khalaf al Jassem, was reportedly in the vicinity of the strike, but was not seriously injured.
Four sources said the Coalition was responsible for the strike.
No further details are currently available.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the city of Ar Raqqah (الرقة), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.9505639, 39.0094148. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (9) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]
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One of the men alleged killed in a Coalition airstrike on May 16th, 2017 (image by Ashirat Aljabbat posted on May 18th 2017).
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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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The report contains insufficient information of the time location and details to assess its credibility.
Original strike reports
For May 15th-16th the Coalition reported: “Near Raqqah, eight strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units; destroyed four vehicles, two fighting positions, two VBIEDs, a front-end loader and a supply cache; and damaged an ISIS supply route.” It was later also noted that “Additionally, one strike was conducted in Syria on May 15th that closed within the last 24 hours. Near Raqqah, one strike destroyed an ISIS headquarters.”
For May 16th-17th, the Coalition reported: “Near Raqqah, six strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units; destroyed five vehicles, two VBIEDs, two mortar systems, and an ISIS storage facility; and damaged an ISIS bridge.” The Coalition also additionally reported that on May 16th “Near Raqqah, one strike damaged an ISIS supply route,” and that “Near Raqqah, Syria, on May 16th, one strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed six ISIS-held buildings, four ISIS tunnels, two fighting positons, and one tactical vehicle.”