Geolocation
Airwars assessment
One civilian was reportedly killed, and three others, including one elderly woman, were injured as a result of alleged Russian or Iranian airstrikes or explosion of a suicide drone in the village of Nahlia, in the vicinity of the town of Ariha, south of Idlib on the afternoon of October 31st, 2020 according to Local sources.
One source only (@atif781Osman) mentioned the killing of “at least one civilian” due to airstrikes by a drone on a workshop while workers “were picking olives in the agricultural lands of the village of Nahlia”. No other source mentioned any detail on the number of civilians that were reported killed. However, all of the sources claimed that civilians were injured in this incident. The majority of the sources including Syrian Civil defense reported that three civilians, including an elderly woman, were wounded and added that “the civil defense teams responded to the incident and worked to aid the wounded and secure the place”. Step News agency claimed that the three civilians were “seriously injured”. On the other hand, some other sources such as Syrian journalists Mohamed Al-Daher (@Mohamed2Aldaher) and Ibrahim Yasouf (@ibraheem890) claimed that one woman and one man were injured.
Some sources including Syrian civil defense and Syrian Observatory of Human Rights mentioned that the attack was on people harvesting olives in the village of Nahlia. Other local sources (@SRoudinah2, @muhammadamory1) reported that a car in the village of Nahlia was attacked. Nevertheless, according to Enab Baladi News the commander of the Ariha sector in the Civil Defense, Walid Aslan, said that “civilians working in the olive fields in the vicinity of the village of Nahlia, were targeted by suicide drones. One of them exploded near a car belonging to civilians, injuring three people, including an elderly woman who sustained a head injury”.
Sham News and a tweet by (@SRoudinah2) pointed out the use of new weapons in the attack. Some of the sources including Step News Agency and Halab Today TV mentioned that there were airstrikes specifically from a drone, while others including Al-Jisr News agency and Idlib TV reported that there was an explosion of the suicide drone. However, One source on twitter called Resala post (@resalapost) claimed that the drone actually crashed to the ground.
The majority of the sources who named the belligerent in their reporting on the incident blamed Russian forces for the attack. However, few local sources including the journalist Mohamed Al-Daher (@Mohamed2Aldaher) and the activist Hafez Taraman (@hafeztaraman) claimed that the suicide drone that attacked the civilians was Iranian.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention a vehicle being struck in the village of Nahliya (نحلية), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.847491, 36.600351. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (36) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (11) [ collapse]
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A woman was injured in an alleged Russian suicide drone on Nahla village on October 31st, 2020. (via SCD).
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A woman injured in an alleged Russian suicide drone on Nahla village on October 31st, 2020 is assisted by SCD members. (via SCD).
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SCD volunteers seen next to a car after it was struck by a Russian suicide drone in Nahla, Idlib on October 31st, 2020. (via SCD).
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The woman who was injured in an alleged Russian suicide drone on Nahla village on October 31st, 2020. (via @IdlibPlus)
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The woman who was injured in an alleged Russian suicide drone on Nahla village on October 31st, 2020. (via MMC)
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The car that was struck by a Russian suicide drone in Nahla village on October 31st, 2020. (via MMC)
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An image shared by MMC Facebook page of the suicide drone allegedly used by Russia on October 31st, 2020 on a car in Nahla village.
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An image from the hospital after an alleged Russian attack with a suicide drone on Nahla village. (via MMC)
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An image from the hospital after three civilians were injured in alleged Russian suicide drone attack on Nahla village in Idlib. (via SY24)
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Three civilians were injured in alleged Russian suicide drone attack on Nahla village in Idlib. (via SY24)