Geolocation
Airwars assessment
A civilian family of five was killed in alleged Coalition airstrikes in Kasrat Sheikh Juma’a village in Raqqa.
Habib al Mustapha al-Abdullah, his wife and their three daughters were the victims of the strikes, according to a number of local sources. The family’s son Zakaria Habib al Abed Lillah also reported the deaths via Facebook, posting pictures of his mother and father.
Six of the eight sources alleged that the Coalition was responsible for the deaths.
In its monthly civilian casualty assessment for September 2019 – published on November 15th – the alliance classed the event as ‘non credible’, asserting that “After a review of all available records it was determined that, more likely than not, civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition action.”
Coalition officials confirmed to Airwars that their review was a match for this event, and provided coordinates for the area assessed to within 100 metres.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (5)
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Kasrat Sheikh (Juma’a) (كسرة شيخ (جمعة)), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.905278, 38.963889. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (10) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]
-
Habib al Mustapha al Abdullah and his wife (picture courtesy of surviving family)
-
Habib Mustapha al Abdallah was reportedly killed with his family due to Coalition airstrikes in the village of Kasrat Sheikh Jumaa, Raqqa (via RBSS)
-
Habib al Mustapha al Abdullah (picture courtesy of surviving family)
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
-
June 13, 2017, near Raqqa, Syria, via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was determined that, more likely than not, civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition action.
Original strike reports
For June 12th-13th, the Coalition reported: “Near Raqqah, 22 strikes engaged 20 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 21 fighting positions and four vehicles.” It additionally reported that “On June 12, near Raqqah, Syria, nine strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units and destroyed seven fighting positions, an IED factory, an ISIS staging area, an ammo cache, and a command and control node.”
For June 13th-14th, the Coalition reported: “Near Raqqah, 20 strikes engaged 14 ISIS tactical units; destroyed 12 fighting positions, five vehicles, five ISIS boats, two VBIEDs, a recoilless rifle, a command and control node, and a tunnel; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.” It additionally reported that “On June 13, near Raqqah, Syria, 10 strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and a sniper and destroyed a fighting position, a tunnel, an ISIS headquarters, a weapons cache, a vehicle, and a VBIED.”
On the 15/6-17, the French MoD reported: "In the past week, France reports his 31 sorties, 28 of which were Armed Reconnaissance or Ground Support (CAS) and 3 were intelligence gathering. Two strikes were conducted by French planes in Iraq and Syria, one in the west of Raqqah city, and the other in the Al Qaim region, both against ISIL fighters. Task Force Wagram carried out 80 artillery strikes in Mosul."
Cette semaine, les aéronefs de l’opération Chammal ont réalisé 31 sorties aériennes dont 28 de reconnaissance armée ou d’appui au sol (CAS) et 3 de recueil de renseignements. 2 frappes ont été conduites par les avions français en Irak et en Syrie, l’une à l’Ouest de la ville de Raqqah, et l’autre dans la région d’Al Qaim, toutes deux contre des combattants de Daech