During the early evening of Tuesday, 10 December 2024, the village of Ja’dah al-Kabira, southwest of Kobani (Ain al-Arab) in northern Syria, was allegedly bombed by the Turkish military. The attack resulted in the deaths of two or three civilians, including a child, and injuries to six civilians, including at least two children, all from the same family. The family’s house was reportedly destroyed as a result of the strike.

ANF news reported that the alleged Turkish artillery shelling resulted in the death of two civilians and one child and the serious injury of two children. The post was accompanied by the images of two boys lying on hospital beds, one of them having a head injury. NPA news reported slightly different information, writing about the death of a girl and the injury of six members of her family as a result of the Turkish drone strike.

The deceased were identified as Abdullah Mahmoud Sheikh Ali, aged either 25 or 28, and Shahd Mahmoud Sheikh Ali, a young girl whose age was reported variably as 12 or 16. Both were members of the same household. Two children, Omar Mahmoud Sheikh Ali (10 years old) and Mahmoud Mahmoud Sheikh Ali (eight years old), were seriously injured in the strike.

Multiple local sources referred to the incident as a massacre, sharing video footage showing rescue efforts at the scene and the two injured children receiving treatment in the hospital.

A video shared by Hawar News showed two injured children in the hospital who were interviewed by a correspondent. First, a young boy lying on a hospital bed covered with a thick grey blanket, with visible scratches on his face, was speaking. He said:

“My name is Mahmoud. While I was watching cartoon movies on TV, a plane bombed our house, and I was with my father and brothers. I don’t know what happened to them; it was a huge bomb in the yard of our house.”

Later, the correspondent talked to another injured boy, apparently ten-year-old Omar. He told the reporter the following: “We were at home when a plane bombed us, and a missile fell in the courtyard of the house. I was with my father and brothers, and I don’t know what happened to them.” He also had scratches on his face.

At the end of the video, an older woman was speaking, and she said the following:“The bombing happened after the Maghrib prayer (i.e. after sunset). The house was bombed with a missile, and it collapsed on our heads. I was with the family and my brother’s sons. May God not bless them as they destroyed the house.”

Responsibility for the attack has been widely attributed to Turkish forces, although no official statement has been issued. The sources conflicted on the nature of the attack as some alleged that it was artillery shelling, and others claimed that it was a drone strike.