Geolocation
Airwars assessment
As many as 26 civilians were killed, including a family of six, in an alleged Coalition airstrike on Raqqah’s Al Tawsuya neighbourhood, according to local media. Despite initial uncertainty of the date, Amnesty reported that the strike occurred on the 8th October 2017.
In a private message to Airwars, RBSS said the victims died on October 6th. On October 14th, the Syrian Human Rights Committee also named Hamed Obeid Al-Nasser, Hamam Hamid Obaid Al-Nasser and Hamida Abdo Noufal as killed in Coalition bombing, though reporting that the they died on October 13th.
Despite this, on 8th October “At least 26 people, including at least 11 children and five women, were killed by an air strike which destroyed the building they were sheltering in.”
The owner of Qunaitir Building, Ali, told Amnesty International in a testimony that “The victims were all displaced residents who had been forced to flee their homes. They were all sheltering in the basement, but unfortunately it was not enough to protect them.”
He added to his testimony later that “Only the four kids died in this strike and that Aziza Obeida al-Nasser died a month earlier and he buried her in nearby garden. Aziza’s husband disappeared when he went back home to get stuff near Mafraq al-Jezra. One daughter, child, of Aziza survived.”
Seven members of the of Abu Ali al Bariachi family were also killed in the strike. The daughter survived but it is unclear where she went.
In their original assessment of the incident, the Coalition deemed the incident non-credible on the grounds that “The report contains insufficient information of the time, location and details to assess its credibility” in June 2018. In a second review of the incident on March 10, 2022 in the CJTF-OIR Civilian Casualty Report, the Coalition reported this incident to be “non-credible”, stating that “After review of all available evidence it was determined that more likely than not civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition strike.”
The incident occured at 17:00:00 local time.
The victims were named as:
Family members (7)
Family members (6)
Family members (3)
Family members (3)
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (5) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]
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Abdul khaliq Al-Abaka, a victim of alleged US-led Coalition strikes on the city of Raqqah, 8th October 2017. (via RBSS)
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Mohammed Anwar al-Jabeen, his wife and four children, victims of alleged US-led Coalition strikes on the city of Raqqah, 8th October 2017.
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Mohammed Anwar al-Jabeen, ictim of alleged US-led Coalition strikes on the city of Raqqah, 8th October 2017.
Geolocation notes
Initial reports of the incident mention the neighbourhood of Al Tawassiya (التوسعیة) in the city of Raqqa. The generic coordinates for this neighbourhood are: 35.9633318, 38.9806321. The incident likely occurred in the South East of Al Tawassiya (التوسعیة) area, as this is where the fighting was concentrated at the time. In a more recent Amnesty findings it was reported that Qunaitir Building was struck, Between 20/17/09/29 and 2017/10/10 only some damage can be seen to the building. By 2017/10/05 to 2017/10/10 clear damage can be seen. Coordinates released by the Coalition place the event at 35.95922, 39.00215
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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The report contains insufficient information of the time, location and details to assess its credibility
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Oct. 8, 2017, near Raqqah, Syria, via Amnesty International report. After review of all available evidence it was determined that more likely than not civilian casualties did not occur as a result of a Coalition strike. 2713/CS1596 37SEV0019479425
Original strike reports
Awaiting exact date