(Previous Incident Code: R4691)

Shortly before 1:20 PM on Tuesday, 15 October 2024, an alleged Russian airstrike hit the al-Kilani power station located in the Ain al-Zarqa area of the Darkoush countryside, west of Idlib, Syria. The attack injured two civilian men working on the site, damaged the station, and disrupted its functioning. The injuries were identified by the Syrian Civil Defense (also known as “White Helmets”) as Mohammad and Farhan.

News of the attack was shared in the early afternoon by several X/Twitter and Facebook users. Twitter/X user @SyriaCivilDefe was the first to report the incident at 1:20 PM, reporting about injuries and the huge fire engulfing the power station. At 2:11 PM, SCD reported two injuries, and later the same source identified the two injured simply as Mohammad and Farhan; no other details were available. In the same post, one of the two wounded was seen being treated by White Helmets and hospital personnel. He was an adult man who had been injured in the shoulder.

The Syrian Civil Defense also shared a video that showed SCD volunteers arriving at the place of the airstrike, engulfed by the huge cloud of black smoke. They quickly rushed to the station, asking if there were any civilians there. Inside the station, one could see broken windows and doors. Later, the video showed two injured men being transported by the ambulance. One of them was injured in the left arm, while another – in his shoulder and back.

Images shared by @SyriaCivilDefe X/Twitter account showed firefighters attempting to extinguish the fire that enveloped the power station using hydrants. It was evident from the images that the fire was raging on, producing huge clouds of grey and black smoke.

The video by the journalist @HadiAlabdallah was filmed at the place of the incident. The burnt constructions and clouds of smoke were seen behind him. Hadi said the following in the video: “The attack was carried out by Russian warplanes, which led the power and water stations to be out of service. This resulted in the  power outage and water cuts in many areas in the Idlib countryside.”

The Al-Kilani power station that supplied the water station serving the towns and villages in the al-Roj plain and the Darkoush countryside was reported to be put completely out of service by the attack, which reportedly led to a power outage for 17 villages in the area and water cut-offs. This information was provided to the journalist Muhannad Qirat by the electricity company affiliated with the Syrian Salvation Government. X/Twitter user @Alaskari376685 reported that while the attack was carried out by Russian aircraft, Syrian regime authorities and supporters stated that the action targeted “militants.” The source described this as a “desperate attempt to mislead public opinion and hide the truth about targeting civilians.”

All sources suggested that the attack was carried out by Russian warplanes. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the station was hit with several missiles.