Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Six named civilians from the Ashram family – displaced from Deir ez-Zor – died in a casualty event in Raqqa, according to local media – though reports were conflicted as to whether they were killed by Coalition airstrikes or shelling by the US or SDF.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights and Euphrates Post were among sources blaming Coalition raids. However, LCCSY, Sharqiya and Al Raqqa Truth attributed the event to shelling by the SDF.
Omandaily reported that a family of seven died, though it didn’t identify the culprit of the “bombing”.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (6)
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 (15) [ 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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The report contains insufficient information of the time location and details to assess its credibility.
Original strike reports
For May 27th-28th the Coalition reported: “Near Raqqah, 15 strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units; destroyed six fighting positions, three ISIS headquarters, an ISIS staging area and a VBIED.” The Coalition additionally reported that on May 27th “Near Raqqah, Syria, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed a six fighting positions, an ISIS-held building and a weapons cache.”
For May 28th-29th, the Coalition reported: "Near Raqqah, eight strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units; destroyed two fighting positions, two vehicles, two VBIED factories, two VBIED facilities, and an ISIS mechanical facility." For May 28th it added "Near Raqqah, Syria, four strikes destroyed a weapons cache, an ISIS staging area, and three fighting positions".