Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

CS965c

Incident date

June 11, 2017

Location

Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

35.934506, 39.010462 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

In the Amnesty and Airwars’s joint April 2019 report “War in Raqqa: Rhetoric versus Reality”, four civilians were reportedly killed in alleged Coalition airstrikes in Raqqa. Although Airwars assesses single sourced incidents as “weak”, researchers have assessed this incident “fair” due to the depth of material provided by Amnesty.

According to the Amnesty and Airwars’s joint April 2019 report “War in Raqqa: Rhetoric versus Reality”, “Ibrahim Sabri al-Aabed, 17, and his three cousins were killed when the boat they took to cross the river was destroyed by an air strike.”

Field notes contain additional information explaining that they went to the river with Ibrahim’s mother and other relatives; people boarded boats by the old bridge (to the right [west] side, which is now not accessible). Ibrahim’s mother and other relatives managed to cram onto a boat and crossed but Ibrahim and his cousins did not as Ibrahim were a bit further behind waited for a guy to bring him cigarettes. Once on the other side (where her sister lived) his mother learned that the boat had been hit and Ibrahim and his cousin and two others had been killed.

Fatima, the mother, told Amnesty in a testimony that “I got on a boat with some relatives but my son and his cousin had stopped to buy cigarettes, and had to wait for the next boat. When I reached the other side I learned that their boat had been bombed.”

In their monthly civilian casualty reports, the US-led Coalition has indicated that the credibility of this civilian harm allegation is in the process of being assessed.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Ibrahim Sabri al-Aabed
17 years old male killed
Suleiman Daud Aabed
20 years old male killed
Ahmad Hassan al-Faqir
19 years old male killed
Aissa Musa al-Aajili
23 years old male killed

Geolocation notes (2) [ collapse]

  • Before strike. (via Amnesty)

  • After strike. (via Amnesty)

Summary

  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (1 child2 men)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition

Media
from sources (9) [ collapse]

  • Ibrahim Sabri al Abed, killed in an alleged Coalition airstrike on June 11th 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Suleiman Daud Abed, killed in an alleged Coalition airstrike on June 11th 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • Ahmad Hassan Al Faqir, killed in an alleged Coalition airstrike on June 11th 2017. (via Amnesty)
  • The site of the strike to years on. (via Amnesty)
  • The site of the strike to years on. (via Amnesty)
  • The site of the strike to years on. (via Amnesty)
  • The site of the strike to years on. (via Amnesty)
  • The site of the strike to years on. (via Amnesty)
  • Via Amnesty International

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Open incident
  • Civilian deaths conceded
    None
  • Civilian injuries conceded
    None

Original strike reports

US-led Coalition

The assessment on this allegation is pending.

Summary

  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4
  • (1 child2 men)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition