Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Two civilians were killed in Mazra’at al Kahtaniya village, according to local media – though sources are conflicted as to whether this was the result of a Coalition airstrike or a land mine.
According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, “Ali al Omar al Rwayjeh, from Raqqa city, died along with his brother Yousef in International Coalition warplanes missiles fired on Mazra’et al Qahtaniya village in Raqqa governorate northern suburbs on June 8, 2017″.
Al Ragga Truth reported that Ali Saleh al Rwayjeh and Yusuf Omar al Rwayjeh (both from Mazra’at al Qahtaniya) were killed in a “mine explosion”. Soheb1800 also blamed a land mine for their deaths.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (2)
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Mazra’at al Kahtaniyah (مزرعة القحطانية), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.988333, 38.924444. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (3) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]
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Ali al Omar al Rwayjeh, killed in an alleged Coalition strike on Mazra’at al Kahtaniya village, June 8th, according to SN4HR.
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 7th-8th: “Near Raqqah, 22 strikes engaged 16 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 12 fighting positions, three vehicles, two ISIS staging areas, an ISIS excavator, an ISIS weapons cache, and an ISIS training camp.” It also added that “On June 7, near Raqqah, Syria, one strike destroyed six fighting positions and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.” And that “On June 7, near Raqqah, Syria, one strike destroyed an ISIS minefield.”
For June 8th-9th, the Coalition reported: “Near Raqqah, nine strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units and destroyed six fighting positions, three vehicles and a mortar system.“