Geolocation
Airwars assessment
A civilian male was reportedly killed following artillery strikes on February 23 Street, Raqqa, likely carried out by US forces.
A number of local sources named the victim as Ahmad Tarad al Khalifa al Haj. Abdulsalam Farij, a relative of the deceased, said via Facebook that the man died as a result of being wounded by shrapnel.
Mohab Nasser of Tabaqa Media Center and Al Raqqa Truth also shared images of the damage from the artillery strikes, reportedly showing the house of Muhammed al Darwish on February 23 Street next to the Al Salam hospital.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]
The Coalition published an MGRS code when it assessed the allegation as Non Credible, presumably showing the assessment area.
Summary
Sources (10) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (4) [ collapse]
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Destruction of civilian houses following alleged shelling, most likely carried out by the Coalition, near Old Hal Market, June 15th (via Mohab Naser)
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Destruction of civilian houses following alleged shelling, most likely carried out by the Coalition, near Old Hal Market, June 15th (via Mohab Naser)
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Destruction of civilian houses following alleged shelling, most likely carried out by the Coalition, near Old Hal Market, June 15th (via Mohab Naser)
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Ahmad Tarad al Khalifa al Haj, reportedly a victim of the alleged Coalition airstrikes targeting Raqqa between June 12-15th (via 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 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.”
For June 14th-15th, the Coalition reported: “Near Raqqah, 11 strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units; destroyed nine fighting positions, three ISIS boats, and a vehicle; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.”
"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."