Airwars assessment
At least 10 civilians were killed in alleged Coalition airstrikes on Hamra Nasser village, according to local source Ahmad al Shibli.
Al Hassaka Rasd reported that “international coalition planes carried out a massacre in Hamra Nasser killing the family of Hamoud al Ali al Issa in its entirety”.
According to RFS, “The SDF forces took control of the village of Hamra Nasser 5 km east of al-Rigga after three days of clashes with elements of Dahesh and the support of the coalition air force forces, which led to the killing of an entire family”.
In their June 2020 civilian casualty report, the US-led Coalition assessed reports that they were responsible for civilian harm in this strike as “non-credible”, stating that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area at that time.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (1)
- Hamoud al Ali al Issa Adult male killed
Summary
Sources (9) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ 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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May 24, 2017, in Hamrat Nasir, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties. 3101/CS857 37SEV151745
Original strike reports
For May 23rd-24th, the Coalition reported: “Near Raqqah, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; destroyed three fighting positions and a mortar system.” It also later noted that “Near Raqqah, Syria, three strikes destroyed eight command and control nodes and destroyed a VBIED facility” and that “Near Raqqah, Syria, May 23, two strikes destroyed three command and control nodes.”
For May 24th-25h, the Coalition reported: "Near Raqqah, 15 strikes [1 British] engaged 12 ISIS tactical units; and destroyed five fighting positions, four ISIS dump trucks, four vehicles, two artillery systems, a front-end loader, and a weapons cache." It added that "Near Raqqah, Syria, May 24, four strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed six fighting positions, a mortar system, and a vehicle."
"Wednesday 24 May – a Reaper attacked near Raqqa, whilst Tornados prosecuted four Daesh targets in Mosul…A Reaper, conducting surveillance south-west of Raqqa on Wednesday 24 May, kept watch on a small group of terrorists and was able to conduct a successful attack with a Hellfire missile. In Mosul, when advancing Iraqi security forces found themselves facing two buildings defended by a Daesh heavy machine-gun, a sniper team and at least one individual in a suicide-bomb vest, they called for assistance from a flight of Tornados. Our aircraft delivered a very precise simultaneous attack with two Paveway IVs which destroyed both terrorist strongpoints. The Tornados then hit a third terrorist position, again with a Paveway, whilst a second flight bombed a fourth position."