Geolocation
Airwars assessment
In a major civilian casualty event, between 13 and 30 civilians were killed and up to 70 more injured from airstrikes from either a Russian or a Coalition strike on al Idkhar neighbourhood in Raqqa City. Both belligerents report bombing in the area.
Raqaa is Being Slaughtered initially reported on the morning of August 11th: “Wael Haj Hussein martyred and his father injured in coalition raids last night on al Idkhar.”
However it later reported “Shawkat Jajan al Zayid and his daughter martyred following Russian raids on al Idkhar neighbourhood midnight last night.”
Many sources attributed the airstrikes to Russian aircraft, specifically “10 Russian warplanes that launched 12 airstrikes against Raqqa and surrounding areas.”
Following the strikes, Russia published a statement saying that six warplanes bombed Raqqa and surrounding areas, and the Russian Defence Ministry posted a video showing the planes launching and dropping bombs on Raqqa.
According to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, the airstrikes targeted al-Taj hall, the al-Ferdosia area, the Brigade 17 area, a state security building, and the water pumping station in al Kassrat. Then areas effected were identified as those under the control of ISIS by the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
@syriamubasher reported that “at least two people died – in an initial count – dozens more were wounded (including cases of amputations and other serious injuries) when Russia carried out more than a dozen airstrikes in Raqqa city. The raids resulted in water being cut off to entire districts of the city and widespread destruction of buildings and public facilities”.
Photos published by Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently showed the collapse of buildings and houses as a result of the strikes. They also included very graphic images of dead children.
In their May 2020 civilian casualty report, the US-led Coalition assessed reports that they were responsible for civilian harm in this strike as “non-credible”, stating that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area at that time.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (2)
Family members (2)
Family members (2)
The victims were named as:
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the city of Ar Raqqah (الرقة), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.9505639, 39.0094148. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (31) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (31) [ collapse]
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Clouds of smoke above Raqqa following alleged Russian airstrikes on Aug 11th (via RBSS)
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An image depicting the exact moment the alleged Russian raid hit. (via, RBSS)
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An image depicting the exact moment the alleged Russian raid hit. (via, RBSS)
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The aftermath of the alleged incident on Raqqa, on 11th August 2016. (via, RBSS)
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The aftermath of the alleged incident on Raqqa, on 11th August 2016. (via, RBSS)
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The aftermath of the alleged incident on Raqqa, on 11th August 2016. (via, RBSS)
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The aftermath of the alleged incident on Raqqa, on 11th August 2016. (via, RBSS)
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The aftermath of the alleged incident on Raqqa, on 11th August 2016. (via, RBSS)
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The aftermath of the alleged incident on Raqqa, on 11th August 2016. (via, RBSS)
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Mohammad Shawkat Jajan al Zayid, killed by an alleged Russian raid. (via, RBSS)
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This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Seriously graphic image of a child killed in an alleged Russian raid. (via, RBSS) -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Seriously graphic image of a child killed in an alleged Russian raid. (via, RBSS) -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Seriously graphic image of a child killed in an alleged Russian raid. (via, RBSS) -
Yasser Mohammad Sabah al Dibba, killed by an alleged Russian raid. (via, RBSS)
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Abdoulkarim Awad Shlash And his girl Alysar Awad Shlash, killed by an alleged Russian raid. (via, SN4HR)
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Adnan Al Nimr, killed by an alleged Russian raid. (via, SN4HR)
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Hatim Adnan Al Nimr, killed by an alleged Russian raid. (via, SN4HR)
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Khaled Ismail Al Doehi, killed by an alleged Russian raid. (via, SN4HR)
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The aftermath of the incident in Raqqa. (via, Alhurra)
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This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
A seriously injured or deceased civilian being lifted from the rubble following an alleged raid on Raqqa. (via, JisirTV)
Russian Military Assessment:
Original strike reports
On August 11th 2016, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation reported that, "six Tu-22M3 long-range bombers took off from the territory of the Russian Federation and carried out concentrated strikes with high-explosive fragmentation munitions on objects of the ISIS terrorist grouping located to the south-east, north, and north-west regions from the Raqqah city. A large weaponry, ammunition and POL storage located near the Raqqah city, a plant producing chemical munitions located in the north-western suburbs of the city, and a large ISIS terrorists’ training camp have been destroyed by the aviation strike." Further to this they added that "Terrorists have suffered significant material damage. A lot of insurgents have been eliminated." According to the report the bombers took off from Hmeymim airbase.
US-led Coalition Assessment:
Civilian casualty statements
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Aug. 11, 2016, in Raqqah, Syria via Airwars report. After a review of all available records it was assessed that no Coalition actions were conducted in the geographical area that corresponds to the report of civilian casualties. 3028/CS292 37SEV008784
Original strike reports
For August 10th-11th 2016, the Coalition reported no strikes at Raqqa. However for August 11th-12th the Coalition reported: “Near Ar Raqqah, one strike destroyed an ISIL excavator.”