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 Raqqah, Syria”. According to the Coalition report, “45. June 3, 2017, near Al-Jisr Al Jadeed, Syria, via regional humanitarian organisation. 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.”
No additional details are presently known.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Summary
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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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 June 3rd-4th: “Near Raqqah, 16 strikes engaged seven ISIS tactical units; destroyed 17 fighting positions, three vehicles, and an ISIS excavator; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.” It also additionaly noted for June 3rd that “Near Raqqah, Syria, three strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units, destroyed 10 fighting positions, and damaged one ISIS-held building.”