At 11 p.m on Sunday, December 8, 2024, at least 13 and up to 18 people from one family, including at least eight children and two women, were killed and many others were wounded by an alleged Turkish airstrike or drone strike in the village of Al-Mustariha in the Ain Issa countryside, located north of Raqqa.

According to reports from  Hawar News, the tragedy occurred at exactly 11:00 pm, reportedly caused by an airstrike by the Turkish military.

North Press Agency provided the names and identities of 13 people killed in the attack: Mahmoud Muhammad Ibrahim al-Eido (Abu Fadi) (70 yrs old), Mustafa Muhammad Ibrahim al-Eido (45 yrs old), his wife Raqayya al-Eido (40 yrs old), Kawthar al-Eido (16 yrs old), Loma al-Eido (7 yrs old), Abdul Qader al-Eido (17 yrs old), Mustafa al-Eido (3 yrs old), Turkiya Mahmoud al-Eido (27 yrs old), three of his children, a woman Fawzie al-Eido (27 yrs old) and her three-year-old daughter. The majority of those killed were from the al-Eido family and the al-Bajmish clan. According to ANF news, among the casualties were also the son of Abu Fadi, Ismail Mahmoud al-Eido, the daughter of Abu Fadi, two daughters of Mustafa al-Eido, and Ahmad Finsh’s daughter. 

The lives of Mahmoud al-Eido Abu Fadi and Mustafa al-Eido were memorialized by Mahmoud Sheikh Ibrahim on Facebook, and Mahmoud was described as “generous and honorable,” while Mustafa was described as “good and well-mannered”.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated that a household of 11, which included six children and women, was killed by an attack against the village. North Press Agency put the death toll at 12, “most of them children from one family”.

The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria released a statement on their Facebook detailing that the Turkish attack, referred to as an artillery bombardment, killing 12 civilians, “most of them women and children” as well as “wounding many residents with varying injuries”.

Images and videos obtained by Rojnews illustrate the horrific scene of the massacre, where mostly children/toddlers, women, and a few male family members lay dead, covered in the rubble.

Where sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to the Turkish military. Sources were conflicted as to whether a drone strike, airstrike, or artillery strike was responsible for the civilian harm.