Airwars assessment
Five people were killed due to an airstrike that destroyed their home near the Al Nour mosque. Some of their names were initially reported on by several local sources (RBSS, RFS, Step News Agency) in connection to incident CS955a. 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 identify 2 different airstrikes that happened in the area, in which people of 4 different families were killed. This one, on June 9th, 2017 at 12:30 killed 2 children, 2 women and a man and one person was injured. The War in Raqqa: Rethoric versus Reality report notes: “Five people – 2 children, 2 women and a man – were killed when their home was destroyed by an airstrike at 12.30 am. Wathna Turkmani, a midwife, lived on the third floor but was staying with her aunt on the ground floor for fear of airstrikes. Her aunt, Fadwa Al Mammo, was injured and left paralysed.” She told Amnesty investigators: “My seven-year-old daughter and my friend, also a midwife who had been displaced from her home were both killed as well as my cousin and his wife and their baby son. This war killed so many innocent civilians.”
In their monthly civilian casualty reports, the US-led Coalition has indicated that the credibility of Amnesty’s civilian harm allegation is in the process of being assessed.
The incident occured at 12:30 am local time.
The victims were named as:
Family members (3)
- Mahmoud Faruq al-Khalaf 31 years old male husband of Salam killed
- Salam Matar al-Hind 20s years old female wife of Mahmoud killed
- Assad Faruq al-Khalaf 5 months years old male son of Mahmoud and Salam killed
- Tala Turkmani 7 years old female daughter of Wathna Turkmani killed
- Hanan Hamzeh 38 years old female friend of Wathna Turkmani killed
- Fadwa Al Mammo Adult female aunt of Wathna Turkmani injured
Summary
Sources (47) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (18) [ collapse]
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Geolocation notes (2) [ collapse]
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.