SMART Agency reported from the Syrian Civil Defense that that seven civilians including a woman were wounded as a result of Russian forces airstrikes on Majdalia village in Idlib, Syria on January 30th, 2020.
No further details are available at the moment.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Two civilians were reported killed and another injured in alleged Russian forces or Syrian regime forces airstrikes on a market in Saraqib city center, or on displaced people in the outskirts of Saraqib on January 29th, 2020 according to local sources.
On January 29th, 2020, Edlib Media Center reported “A martyr and several wounded people, due to rocket attacks, targeting the market of the city of Saraqib, east of Idlib.”, but Step Agency said “One man was killed and two were wounded as a result of the Syrian regime forces’ warplanes targeting displaced civilians on the outskirts of Saraqeb.”
The Syrian Network for Human Rights reported that “Abdul Rahman Abdullah Kafrtouni was killed as Syrian regime fixed- wing warplanes fired missiles on the main market in the middle of Saraqeb city in the eastern suburbs of Idlib governorate, on January 29, 2020.”. On February 2nd 2020, the network said that another civilian died because of injuries sustained on January 29th in Saraqib city. “Mu’taz Adnan al Darwish died on February 2, due to wounds sustained on January 29th, as Syrian regime fixed- wing warplanes fired missiles on the main market in Saraqeb city in the eastern suburbs of Idlib governorate.”
Ariha Today said the shelling happened with ‘explosive container from a helicopter’ and @baladinetwork reported that barrel bombs were used in the attack.
@ShahbaPress, Macro Media Center, Edlib Media Center, Step Agency and Ariha Today blamed the Syrian regime while Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Shaam Network blamed both Russia and the regime and @thawrat111 attributed the strikes to Russia.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
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The chief spokesman of the Somali government, Ismael Mukhtar Omar, reported in a tweet that an al Shabaab compound in Jilib had been destroyed by a US airstrike. AFRICOM did not declare the strike at the time, though did later confirm the action on February 3rd/4th.
According to Omar’s initial tweet, “In the early morning of January 29th, The Federal Government of Somalia in coordination with and supported by the US Government, conducted an airstrike inside the al-Shabaab-controlled city of Jilib. One al-Shabaab occupied compound was destroyed in the strike.”
Omar also noted that “This week has seen a number of successful military operations in and around the al Shabaab stronghold of Jilib.”
Along with a declared US strike on the town on January 27th, this indicated additional joint Somali-US actions in the area around this time.
AFRICOM confirmed this on February 3rd, issuing a press release which noted that “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted a series of operations to disrupt al-Shabaab terrorists in various locations in southern Somalia, Jan. 23-29…
“As a result of these operations we currently assess that one (1) al-Shabaab terrorist was killed in the vicinity of Jilib and two (2) al-Shabaab compounds were destroyed; one in Jamaame and one in Jilib. Due to operational security and force protection considerations, it prevented issuing a press release immediately. ‘We assess these compounds were used by al-Shabaab militants to organize and plan violent terrorist actions against innocent Somali citizens,’ said Hadfield. We currently assess no civilians were injured or killed as a result of these airstrikes.”
Responding to a request for clarification on dates, an AFRICOM official told Airwars by email on February 4th that “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab operations in the vicinity of Jilib, Somalia, on Jan. 29. As a result of this airstrike, we currently assess that one (1) al-Shabaab terrorist was killed and one (1) al-Shabaab compounds were destroyed.”
The incident occured between 12:01 am and 5:00 am local time.
Reports of the incident mention the town of Jilib, for which the coordinates are: 0.494527, 42.777868
In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted a series of operations to disrupt al-Shabaab terrorists in various locations in southern Somalia, Jan. 23-29.
"U.S. forces, working in partnership with the FGS, continue to limit al-Shabaab's ability to hold territory seized from the legitimate government of Somalia and use it as a safe space for plotting terrorist attacks," said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Gregory Hadfield, deputy director of intelligence. "Operations to disrupt al-Shabaab are needed to deny their ability to expand terrorism outside of Somalia as we've recently seen in Kenya."
As a result of these operations we currently assess that one (1) al-Shabaab terrorist was killed in the vicinity of Jilib and two (2) al-Shabaab compounds were destroyed; one in Jamaame and one in Jilib. Due to operational security and force protection considerations, it prevented issuing a press release immediately.
"We assess these compounds were used by al-Shabaab militants to organize and plan violent terrorist actions against innocent Somali citizens," said Hadfield.
We currently assess no civilians were injured or killed as a result of these airstrikes. We continue to take significant measures to comply with the principles of the Law of Armed Conflict during the course of our operations to ensure the safety of civilians.
Somalia remains key to the security environment of East Africa, and its long-term stability is important to advancing U.S. interests in the region. U.S. actions are synchronized with the African Union Mission in Somalia's (AMISOM) mandate to reduce threats and support stabilization, reconciliation, and peacebuilding.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that “a child was killed by artillery shelling of the Turkish Forces carried out from areas controlled by their loyal factions. The shelling targeted Tall Rifaat town within areas of deployment of the Kurdish forces north of Aleppo on January 29th, 2020.”
No further details are available at the moment.
The incident was first reported on January 30, 2020 at 12:54 am by Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Reports of the incident mention the village of Tell Rifaat (تل رفعت), for which the coordinates are: 36.472183, 37.094334
A US drone strike reportedly killed AQAP leaders Qasim Al-Raymi and Abu Al-Baraa Al-Ibbi as they travelled in a car through Yakla, Bayda governorate, on January 29th 2020. This was one of three alleged January strikes in which Qasim al-Raymi was reportedly killed – with his death in one of those actions later confirmed by both the US government and AQAP. There were no known associated reports of civilian harm.
A source “familiar with AQAP’s operations inside Yemen” and a local security source told Al-Masdar Online that Al-Raymi had been killed in this strike. Local residents told Al-Masdar that the attack took place in the village of Al-Hosson Al-Mashrif, and that AQAP militants had then prevented local media and activists from accessing the site.
Similarly, according to reports in The Yemen and 4May, sources told Okaz News that Al-Raymi and Al-Ibbi were killed by the strike at noon, as they arrived at a site controlled by AQAP. The original Okaz article could not be found by Airwars.
Responding to local reports, academic Dr Elisabeth Kendall noted that Al-Ibbi was an “articulate and active” AQAP jurist.
Throughout late January and early February 2020, numerous local-language and English-language sources reported that al-Raymi had been killed by a US strike at the end of January. These variously indicated that he was killed by one of two alleged strikes in the Wadi Obeida, Marib, on January 25th (USYEMTr218) or January 27th (USYEMTr219-C); or by this alleged strike in Bayda on January 29th.
Given that the first known reports of al-Raymi’s death also emerged on January 29th, post-dating the alleged strikes in which he was reported to have died, it was impossible to reasonably exclude the possibility that he died in any of these three reported incidents.
On February 6th, a White House statement confirmed that al-Raymi had been killed by a January strike, but did not specify where or when he had died. “This was not a [Department of Defense] operation”, a US Pentagon official told Politico. A former US official told Foreign Policy that the strike was conducted by a CIA aircraft.
US Central Command told Airwars that no US military strikes were conducted in Yemen during January 2020, effectively confirming that the strike that killed Al-Raymi was a CIA operation.
Al-Raymi had been the leader of AQAP since 2015, having been a founding member of the group in 2006. On February 23rd 2020, AQAP confirmed that al-Raymi had died, and announced Khalid Batarfi as its new leader, according to Dr Elisabeth Kendall (@Dr_E_Kendall).
The incident occured around midday.
Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Hosson Al Mashrif (الحصن المشرف), allegedly within the vicinity of Yakla (يكلاء). One source, @JoshuaKoontz__, suggests the area of Wadi Al Mashrif (وادي المشيريف) as a potential location for this village, approximately 33KM north of Yakla. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for Wadi Al Mashrif are: 14.79646, 45.04077
At the direction of President Donald J. Trump, the United States conducted a counterterrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qasim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and a deputy to al-Qa’ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. Rimi joined al-Qa’ida in the 1990s, working in Afghanistan for Osama bin Laden. Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces. His death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qa’ida movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security. The United States, our interests, and our allies are safer as a result of his death. We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm.
Up to 19 civilians, including at least four children and two women, were killed and more than 20 civilians reported injured after alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on the town of Kafar Lata on January 29th, 2020, according to local sources.
The initial death toll was put at five killed civilians by the Syrian Civil Defence, who later updated this to ten killed civilians. SMART News reported that “Russian warplanes launched a four-missile attack on civilian homes, a mosque and a road for the displaced in the village, killing ten civilians, including a child, and wounding 17 others, including two children and three women.”
A Facebook Post from Kafar Lata identified 21 victims killed and listed most of their names: Yazan Imad Azizi, Hamza Ziyad Azizi, Maher Shukri Sahloul, Omar Sahloul, Ibrahim Sahloul, Imad Toofi Al-Akhras, Mustafa Nihad Akhras, Qamar Mukhles Al Aishi, children of Abdul Hadi Akhras (2 Children), Hisham Kawas, Mustafa Farouk Al-Nimr, Walid Farouk Al-Nimr, Omar Ibn Muhammad Al-Manna, Mukhlis (relative of Manna`s Family from Khan al-Subul), Nihad Akhras, Muhammad Nima Ibn Al-Zankh, Razzouk from outside the village, Ghassan Diab Qali, Ahmed Youssef Qali, and a woman from outside the village.
Step News reported 20 wounded, including people who were in critical condition and people requiring amputations.
Almost all sources blamed the Russian forces for the airstrikes, but Idlib Plus reported that the Syrian regime was responsible. Baladi News identified “high-explosive missiles” as being used in the attack.
On January 31, the Syrian Network for Human Rights updated their initial death toll of 12 casualties to 19 casualties, stating that among them, four children and two women had died. A graphic image posted by @RoaaMediaNews shows the bodies of five men that were allegedly killed during the strikes on Kafar Lata.
The incident occured in the afternoon.
The victims were named as:
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The victims were named as:
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In a massive incident, up to 14 civilians including up to four children, six women and a health worker were reported killed and between 35 and 71 also including children, women and health personnel injured in alleged Russian forces or Syrian regime airstrikes on Ariha in Idlib, Syria in the night between January 29th and 30th, 2020, according to local sources. The Syrian Network for Human Rights said that six of those killed are from the same family, and Macro Media Center reported that Ariha Hospital was targeted with vacuum missiles.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights reported that “at least six civilians, a child and five women, from the same family were killed as fixed- wing warplanes we believe were Russian fired missiles on a residential building in the vicinity of al Shami Hospital in the north of Ariha city in the southern suburbs of Idlib governorate, on January 29th, 2020.”
Step Agency reported that “10 civilians, including children, were killed in an initial toll as a result of the targeting of Russian warplanes with three airstrikes of Al-Shami Surgical Hospital, an oven, and civilian homes in the city of Ariha at midnight, as the hospital went out of service due to the devastation.”
The media sources said that three raids targeted many civilian facilities including Al Shami Surgical Hospital in Ariha killing and wounding a number of health personnel and putting the hospital out of service, in addition to a bakery and residential areas. The Syrian Network for Human Rights said that ” fixed-wing warplanes we believe were Russian fired missiles on al Shami Hospital, known as Ariha Surgical Hospital located in north of Ariha city in the southern suburbs of Idlib governorate, severely destroying its building and damaging its equipment. As a result, the hospital went out of service, on January 29th.”
Geiroon said that the attack on the hospital led also to injury of six health personnel, and to outbreak of fire in the hospital that provides services to 350,000 people.
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that “A new massacre carried out by Russian warplanes, in which ten civilians were killed in Ariha city on Wednesday evening, one of the raids targeted the vicinity of the oven in the city, seven civilians were killed, including five women and a child, who are displaced from Joseph village in Jabal Zawiya, while the rest were killed in raids on al-Shami surgical hospital.”
Shaam Network said that “Civil defense teams managed to retrieve ten martyrs, most of them children and women, from the rubble of destroyed buildings around the Al-Shami Hospital in Ariha, after Russian air strikes hit the hospital late at night.”
The Syrian Network for Human Rights said that the director of the hospital died because of injuries he sustained as a result of the airstrikes. “Zakwan Tamma’a, born in 1977, from Ariha city, an anesthesia technician and the administrative manager of al Shami Hospital, died on February 1st, due to wounds sustained on January 29th, as fixed- wing warplanes we believe were Russian fired missiles on al Shami Hospital in north of Ariha city.” The airstrikes also led to injury of two Syrian Civil Defense volunteers who were on duty responding to the situation.
In addition to the hospital, the raids targeted a bakery in the area. Edlib Media Center reported that “Russian occupation targeted the “automatic oven” with vacuum missiles in the city of Ariha in Idlib countryside, which led to its destruction and its departure from service.”
Shaam Network raised the death toll to 12 and Halab Today said the number of injuries reached 71. Most sources blamed Russia alone for the incident, while Halab Today pointed both the Syrian regime and Russia together for that.
Human Rights Watch said in their report, October 2020 that “Three munitions destroyed the three-story Ariha Surgical Hospital (also known as al-Shami hospital), the only hospital in Ariha, on the night of January 29, 2020, killing at least 14 civilians and wounding another 66. A doctor said in March that the number of dead was likely higher, with some bodies still missing under the rubble.” “The attack on Ariha Surgical Hospital forced the permanent closure of the only functioning hospital in a town of over 37,000 residents at the time. Over 200,000 residents in neighboring villages also relied on the hospital’s services.”
Al Hurra reported that “an AFP reporter saw a doctor screaming out of the hospital, filled with dust from the strike. Walls in the hospital collapsed and stones were scattered, along with medical equipment and medicines that were damaged and fell to the ground.” In addition to the hospital, the reporter saw three buildings completely destroyed. The source also reported that in a hospital near Ariha, more than five children were being treated for their wounds.
Tawfiq Saado, an ambulance driver in Jericho Hospital, told AFP, “I was sitting in one of the rooms, and if an air strike targeted the hospital, then one of the doctors and I rushed out, only to be surprised by another raid… The doctor was wounded and I managed to escape and hide in a nearby building. In a third raid, fires broke out, and the injured fell in front of the hospital door.”
The incident occured during the night.
The victims were named as:
Shaam Network reported that on January 29th, 2020, “The Assad and Russian warplanes launched dozens of airstrikes, most of which targeted the areas of clashes and the towns of Al-Abzimu, Al-Kamari and Jazaria, causing civilian casualties, with thousands of people still being displaced from the targeted areas.”
No further details are available about that.
The local time of the incident is unknown.