Airwars assessment
In an incident not previously tracked by Airwars, on September 29th 2017 the Coalition said it had concluded an assessment on claims of civilian harm “near Raqqa, Syria” via an “NGO report”. According to the Coalition report, “96. June 1, 2017, near Raqqah, Syria, via NGO report: The casualty reported in this allegation was a result of a landmine. The Coalition does not use landmines, therefore this allegation was deemed non-credible.”
The Coalition shared the military coordinates of this assessed strike with Airwars: 37SDV9981980364.
No additional details are known.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Summary
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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The casualty reported in this allegation was a result of a landmine. The Coalition does not use landmines, therefore this allegation was deemed non-credible.
Original strike reports
For May 31st-June 1st, the Coalition reported: “Near Raqqah, 14 strikes engaged nine ISIS tactical units and destroyed eight fighting positions, two vehicles, two anti-air artillery systems, a front-end loader, and a tactical vehicle.”
For June 1st-2nd, the Coalition reported: "Near Raqqah, 11 strikes engaged nine ISIS tactical units and destroyed five vehicles, three fighting positions, a front end loader and an ISIS crane." For June 1st it added that "Near Raqqah, Syria, five strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed 17 fighting positions, an ISIS headquarters, an ISIS-held building, and an IED."