Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Initially this incident was reported on by several local sources as alleged Coalition airstrikes in the area behind Barazi pharmacy, near Al Nour mosque in the city of Raqqa. Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently blamed “international coalition raids and Kurdish militia artillery”, and put the death toll at more than 33, with dozens more wounded. According to RFS, “dozens” died, while Step News Agency said that the Coalition airstrikes were carried out “in conjunction with missile attacks on the city from SDF positions”. Qasioun reported “airstrike with rockets and phosphorous bombs”.
During investigations of this event for the April 2019 joint Airwars and Amnesty report War in Raqqa: Rethoric versus Reality (www.raqqa.amnesty.org), Amnesty field researchers were able to point out that some of the names reported in this incident (Mahmoud al Ahmad al Suleiman (age unknown, male), Rajiha al Ahmad al Suleiman (age unknown, female), Mouna Mahmoud al Suleiman (age unknown, female), Tabarok Mahmoud al Suleiman (age unknown, female), Hisham Abdel Hamid al Badda (age unknown, male)) were actually of people killed in artillery shelling in the Dar’iya neighbourhood (see incidents CS956a and CS956b).
Other names initially reported in this incident are linked to 2 airstrikes investigated for the April 2019 War in Raqqa report, they can be found here: CS955b (Mahmoud Farouk al Khalaf (adult, male), Fadwa Al Mimmo (adult, female), child of Mahmoud and Fadwa (4 months old, male), Hanan Mohamed Ali Hassan Hamza (42 years old, female)). And in CS955c (Karmo al Asma’i (age unknown, male), Khaled Al Shibli (age unknown, male) and Mahmoud Jabali (age unknown, male)).
The 5 people not named in these investigations remain in this incident.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (3)
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (46) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (17) [ collapse]
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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 and strike video it was assessed that there is insufficient evidence to find that civilians were harmed in this strike.
Original strike reports
For June 9th-10th: “Near Raqqah, 20 strikes engaged 12 ISIS tactical units; destroyed seven fighting positions, four vehicles, three ISIS headquarters, a VBIED, and an ISIS-held building; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.” It additionally added that “On June 9, near Raqqah, Syria, nine strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions, two VBIEDs, two weapons caches, and an ISIS staging area.”
For June 10th-11th: “Near Raqqah, 17 strikes engaged 15 ISIS tactical units and destroyed six fighting positions, four vehicles, two ISIS front-end loaders, two ISIS headquarters, an ISIS UAS and an ISIS barge.” It additionally reported that “On June 10, near Raqqah, Syria, 11 strikes engaged 9 ISIS tactical units; destroyed eight fighting positions, a tunnel, a weapons storage facility, and a command and control node; damaged an ISIS factory; and suppressed a sniper.”
Saturday 10 June – In Raqqa, a Reaper struck a group of terrorists engaged in a fire fight with Syrian Democratic Forces, and Typhoons hit two tunnel entrances…The following day [June 10th] , a Reaper intervened in a fire fight in western Raqqa between the SDF and a group of Daesh fighters. The Reaper hit the latter with a very effective Hellfire attack. The same day, Paveway-armed Typhoons struck two entrances to a network of tunnels built beneath a factory in the north-east of the city.