Conflict

Russian Military in Syria

Incident Code

RS0079

Location

كفرنبل‎, Kafr Nabil, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.6152326, 36.560955
Accuracy: Town

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: July 23, 2025

(Previous Incident Code: R063)

A suspected Russian airstrike on the town of Kafr Nabil killed a father and his daughter while injuring the mother and son, according to reports. The dead were later named by Violations Documentation Center as Hatem Khaled al-Khatieb and his 12-year old daughter Diaa Hatem al Khatieb.

However Mr al-Khatieb was later named by All4Syria as a fighter with the rebel group Ahrar Al Sham.

Activist Raed Al Fares, from Kafr Nabil, told the Syrian Network: “A number of Russian warplanes were hovering around in the sky and each went in a different direction. When I rushed to the shelling site, the residents told me that a rocket targeted one of houses. The top floor was completely destroyed and the ground floor was greatly damaged. Also I was told that there were some injured people who have fallen. I went to the hospital and saw the injured residents. A father and his 12 years old daughter were killed and three others from the same family were injured The house is located in the western neighbourhood of Kafr nabel and it is free of any military presence next to it. We have monitoring devices which enabled us to hear the pilots talking to each other in Russian and that is how we knew they were Russians.”

 

Victims

Family members (2)

Hatem Khaled al-Khatieb
Adult male killed
Diaa Hatem al Khatieb
Child female Mr al-Khatieb was later named by All4Syria as a fighter with the rebel group Ahrar Al Sham killed

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Civilians reported killed
1–2
1 Child, 1 Man
Civilians reported injured
2–3

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Kafr Nabil (كفرنبل‎), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.6152326, 36.560955. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Military Statements

Russian Military Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Russian Military
Russian Military position on incident
Not yet assessed
Russian Military Strike Report
The Russian Defence Ministry issued no public update for strikes on October 26th-27th 2015.

Media From Sources (4)