As many as 44 civilians were killed, from three familes, following alleged US-led Coalition airstrikes on al Marniadiya Street in al Badou neighbourhood, Raqqah, according to local media.
The strike reportedly targeted a residential building (pictured). Raqqah is Being Slaughtered Silently identified some victims. However since Amnesty International conducted on the ground research in Raqqa and interviewed survivors of the strikes, 26 civilians have been named.
Saad Abu Ahmad, a trader from the al Kanadi exhibition place in Raqqah, now living in Leipzig, commented on the RBSS post: ‘Yes this is my brother and my nephews, my daughter and her kids and my niece the daughter of my brother Ahmad and her husband.”
All sources reported the US-led Coalition culpable.
In the Amnesty and Airwars’s joint April 2019 report “War in Raqqa: Rhetoric versus Reality” it was stated that “A Coalition airstrike on the evening of 3 October 2017, destroyed a five-storey building in the Harat al-Badu neighbourhood, killing 44 members of the four families who were sheltering there, most of them women and children, the oldest a 90-year-old grandfather and the youngest an 11-days-old baby girl.”
The father of a victim, Mohammad, told Amnesty researchers that “My entire family was wiped out in a moment. My baby girl was only 11 days old. The children; all they knew in their short lives was Daesh (IS) rule and war. Those who came to liberate us killed them all. Why?” Mohammad lost 11 members of his family in two strikes on two apartment blocks in which they were sheltering in Harat al Badu on 3rd October 2017 at around 10.30pm.
Field notes added that “The family had been sheltering on the ground floor or a five storey block of flats. Mohammed had been with them but had left the building 30 minutes previously to assist an injured neighbour. The only other survivor is Mohammed’s brother Rabia Hajj Amin. He is unable to walk as a result of another strike.”
“Those who were staying in the building were in 2 flats on the ground floor and 2 flats on the first floor. We have names of most of the neighbours and relatives, which included three families with no survivors.
Both survivors Mohammad and his brother Rabia Hajj al Amin, reported that “IS had used the roof of the building which was struck and in which the families dies to land an observation drone earlier in the evening on the day of the strike. Approximately two hours later, the building was destroyed. ISIS used nearby buildings to story, medicines, water, food, weapons etc.”
Amnesty field notes added that “To the best of Mohammad’s knowledge, there were no IS in the building at the time of the strike. There was an food storage point run by IS next door, as well as an IS medicines store and weapons store across the road.”
The “Abu Ismael family” – were the second family killed – had been in the other flat on the ground floor.
The “Abu Said family” – the third family killed – were on the first floor when they were killed. We have no vicitims names for this family.
The “Abu Khalil family” – were the fourth family killed – were on the first floor.
In their monthly civilian casualty reports, however, 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 22:30:00 local time.
