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Eliot Higgins Profile picture
@EliotHiggins
Jul 6, 2018 • 11 tweets • 6 min read • Read on X
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Thread - Just spent a great week running a @bellingcat workshop, as usual we ended with two days of participant led investigations, including the investigation of this video claiming to show US strikes on Syria back in April
There’s a number of details visible, most obvious being the large pylon and partly finished roof top.
First we decided to see if we could find any maps of the pylons in Syria, but what there was left a lot to be desired, but it was a start, and we could see Damascus had multiple lines of pylons running through it.
geni.org/globalenergy/l…
iaea.org/NuclearPower/D…
So one approach was to search satellite imagery of Damascus looking for pylons, in an attempt to narrow down the possible locations it could be.
It was even possible to find images of some of the pylons in Google Earth photos, and that's when we realised some pylons had flat tops, unlike the pointed pylon visible in the video.
Then we also noticed in the video there was something that looked like it could be a water tower, and we found a photo of what looks like it could have been a similar water tower, near pylons
Next we started trying to geolocate the photograph, so we could figure out which direction the water tower and pylons were in so we could find those. Fortunately there's not a lot of churches in Damascus, so it was pretty easy to find the location.
This pointed to the direction of the Qaboun Industrial Park, and handily Wikimapia has electricity pylons in the area marked, narrowing down our possible search area, but were they the correct pointy pylons, as seen in the original video?
The area had been captured in August of 2013, and ANNA News had documented the operation, dubbed "Operation Al Kabune" providing footage of the area, and confirming the pylons were pointy
And in a photosphere nearby there's a visible water tower, not dissimilar to the one visible in the video, but is this the water tower we're looking for? google.co.uk/maps/@33.54269…
Other water towers and pylons are visible in the area, including one that matches a pointed water tower, so this seems like the closest we've got so far, but can you #digitalsherlocks find the exact spot the original video was recorded? google.co.uk/maps/@33.53880…

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More from @EliotHiggins

Eliot Higgins Profile picture
Sep 23, 2018
The details about the VIPS/Ray McGovern statement on the August 21st 2013 Sarin attacks which caused a stir at the time is very interesting, tells you a lot about how they operate.
statecrime.org/data/2018/07/N…
Ray McGovern is clearly an absolute bullshitter.
I mean, what are you like, Ray McGovern?
Read 6 tweets
Eliot Higgins Profile picture
Sep 17, 2018
Thread - So the Russian MoD is claiming there's something dodgy about the lighting in the videos, but it's just misinterpreting the shadows and objects. I'll explain how. 1/
The Russian MoD uses the following images to claim the white part of the cabin on the top right shouldn't be visible in shadows. In the second image we see the white part of the top of the cabin turn black when it enters the shadow, but the top right part doesn't 2/
But this is based on the idea the top of the truck that goes dark is white, but it's not. It's a dark band that's reflecting sunlight making it look white in the low quality footage, and without the reflecting light it's much darker. Here's an earlier photo of the same truck. 3/
Read 5 tweets
Eliot Higgins Profile picture
Sep 12, 2018
OP#37: All the World is Staged: An Analysis of Social Media Influence Operations against US Counterproliferation Efforts in Syria nonproliferation.org/op37-all-the-w…
Interesting findings about online influence efforts apparently by the Russian Federation following the April 7th 2018 Douma chlorine attack in the new James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies report
cc @realDonaldTrump
Read 4 tweets
Eliot Higgins Profile picture
Sep 12, 2018
The remains of the chlorine IRAMs used by pro-government forces in chemical attacks against Douma on January 22 and February 1 2018 according to the new @UNCoISyria report were well documented by @STJ_SYRIA_ENG as part of a joint report with @Bellingcat bellingcat.com/news/mena/2018…
The Saraqib February 4 2018 chlorine attack was executed by pro-government forces, according to the new @UNCoISyria report. It's worth noting the modified gas cylinders used in that attack have many similarities with those used in the April Douma attack bellingcat.com/news/mena/2018…
The new @UNCoISyria report also states "[a] vast body of evidence" suggests "a gas cylinder containing a chlorine payload delivered by helicopter" was used in the April 7 2018 Douma attack. Only one side is using helicopters in this conflict.
Read 4 tweets
Eliot Higgins Profile picture
Sep 11, 2018
According to @mod_russia we can expect to see staged footage of a chlorine attack in Jisr al-Shugur published on social media by the end of the day. Let's see if that very specific prediction comes true, or they're just lying, as usual.
Only last week this notorious Aleppo MP and war crime denialist was telling us all about his sources in Jisr al-Shugur and their claims there would be a false flag chemical attack on Friday. That didn't happen either.
On August 26th Sputnik reported that the @mod_russia had evidence of an imminent false flag chemical attack on Kafr Zita. That didn't happen either.
Read 4 tweets
Eliot Higgins Profile picture
Sep 8, 2018
Aircraft spotters working with Hala Systems spotted
multiple Hips from the Vehicles School helicopter base in Hama. Hips
were sighted by different spotters on a route towards Haas underground
hospital after that, then around the area Haas hospital is in just
before it was bombed.
A useful video from Idlib Media Center, giving a detailed look at the entrance area and how badly damaged it was. Some will (and already are) claiming it was an Al-Qaeda bunker or something. Looks like a hospital to me.
So here's a geolocation challenge for you #digitalsherlocks, these two photographs may show the moment Haas hospital was bombed, but can they be geolocated?
Read 5 tweets

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