Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

R4640

Incident date

December 19, 2023

Location

القنيطرة, Al-Quneitra, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

During the morning of Tuesday, December 19th, 2023, a 15-year-old child was injured as a result of airstrikes allegedly launched by the Russian military on the outskirts of the village of Quneitra, in western Idlib. Damage to civilian property and panic among nearby IDP camps was also reported as a result of the strike.

Multiple users on Twitter/X, such as @syr_television, reported that one child sustained injuries as a result of the attack. According to the Syrian Civil Defence and the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the child was 15 years old.

According to a report by the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the airstrike came from a fixed-wing aircraft, which it said they believed to be from the Russian military, firing multiple missiles. The Russian military used vacuum bombs, according to Twitter/X user @SwtAlthwrt58815.

Facebook user Aous Sleiman stated that the Russian strikes “targeted the headquarters of Al-Nusra Front militants” in the village of Quneitra. This information was not corroborated by other sources.

According to multiple reports, such as by Syria TV in a Facebook post, there were intensive reconnaissance flights by the Syrian regime, Iranian, and Russian aircraft in Idlib’s airspace.

Multiple users on Twitter/X such as @OsamaAlshamy166 posted videos on the day of the attack showing smoke billowing out in the distance of what is likely an area on the outskirts of Quneitra.

Pictures shared by the Syrian Civil Defence show damaged homes, with cracks visible on the walls. One picture showed rocks covered in what seemed to be blood.

Where sources attributed the strike, all sources attributed the strike to the Russian military.

The incident occured in the morning.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Residential
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military

Sources (16) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (12) [ collapse]

  • Source: SCD
  • Source: SCD
  • Source: SCD
  • Source: SCD
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: SCD
  • Source: @mohamad_hajjar5
  • Source: Editor moment by moment
  • Source: Adnan Al-Ashqar
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Residential
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military

Sources (16) [ collapse]