Russian Military in Syria

Russian Military in Syria

A Russian combat aircraft at Khmeimim airbase in Syria being prepared for action. (Russian Ministry of Defence)

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Incident Code

RS697

Incident date

February 29, 2016

Location

الحميدية, Hamidiya (Deir ez-Zor), Deir ez-Zor, Syria

Geolocation

35.3301466, 40.1456308 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Three or four civilians were killed in alleged Russian airstrikes on Hamidiya, according to local sources.

Deir Ezzor is Being Slaughtered Silently said two homes were destroyed killing 2 adult males.The victims were also named by the Violations Documentation Centre. According to Alarabay, tens of other civilians were also injured.

All4Syria reported that Russia had carried out three raids on Hamidiya. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , along with some other sources, reported strikes on Hamidiya, but did not say who the “warplanes” that carried then out belonged to.

Damascus Centre for Human Rights listed an unidentified civilian from Aleppo as killed in the neighbourhood, while Syrian Human Rights Committee later named an additional victim who died from “wounds sustained in a Russian strike the previous month”.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Omar Ismail Al Kbeissi
Age unknown named by Deir Ezzor is Being Slaughtered Silently killed
Mohammad Madad
Age unknown named by Deir Ezzor is Being Slaughtered Silently killed
Jalal Hassoun Alawi
Age unknown male died from his wounds killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 4
  • Civilians reported injured
    10
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (19) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

Russia has published no known record of strikes in Syria from February 17th – February 29th.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 4
  • Civilians reported injured
    10
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (19) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS729

Incident date

March 12, 2016

Location

تدمر, Palmyra, Homs, Syria

Geolocation

34.5655244, 38.2873535 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

The Violations Documentation Center listed one unidentified woman as a victim of an alleged Russian airstrikes on Palmyra.

No further details are currently available.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 woman)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

Russia has published no known record of strikes in Syria for March 1st to March 30th.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 woman)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS761

Incident date

April 23, 2016

Location

الكماري, Kamari, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.0449004, 36.9331169 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Up to five civilians including three children died in airstrikes on Kamari, Aleppo, according to multiple sources – though sources are conflicted as to whether this was the work of Russia or the Assad regime.

A tweet by Jabalybarra (an Al Jazeera-affiliated photographer in Aleppo) said a child was killed in the Al-Salheen neighbourhood: “Reports says he was killed while eating. A first aider was also thought to be killed on the same strike.” He did not say who was responsible.

A video posted by the Mohammed Al-Halabi YouTube channel showed the “aftermath of the Russian and regime airstrikes on Al Mash-had neighbourhood“. According to the Shaam News Network, three children from the same family died in Russian raids on the Kamari neighborhood.

However, the Syrian Network for Human Rights blamed the regime for the death of the three children.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Amoneh Mohammad al-Nawaf
Adult female
Ayham Mohammad al-Nawaf
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 5
  • (3 children1 woman1 man)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (10) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • A child victim of the raids targeting Kamari, Aleppo (via Jabalybarra tweet)
  • Aftermath of the raids targeting Kamari, Aleppo (via al-Nahar)

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

The Kremlin has issued no public accounts of airstrikes in Syria from April 1st – 30th.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 5
  • (3 children1 woman1 man)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (10) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS794

Incident date

May 10, 2016

Location

بنش, Binnish, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.958429, 36.711587 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between 10 and 14 civilians including two to three children and one woman died in an airstrike on Binnish which struck a mosque, a market and houses, according to multiple local sources. The majority of reports point to this being the work of the Assad regime, though  others, like LCCSY, alleged that Russia was responsible. Some sources did not identify the planes that carried out the attack.

Step News posted a video saying that a warplane raid in a market in Binnish led to a massacre. An initial report by the Shaam News Network blamed the regime, saying that the town of Binnish – next to Al Faw’a – was one of the locations supposedly covered by a cessation of fighting under the  “Al Faw’a – Al Zabadanii” agreement. It added that “Assad warplanes violated this agreement several times”.

Activists told SNN that the targeting of civilian homes killed 10 individuals and wounded 20 more. They named Abdul Ghaffar Harb, a military commander of Ahrar al-Sham (Al Qaeda) as a victim. A further report by the network said that activists had documented the death of an entire family when the Al Sheikh Sh’eib mosque was struck by “warplanes“. (This time it did not identify them.)

The victims were named as Muhannad Abdul Khaliq and his wife and two children. SNN added that a third child of the family – “no more than seven years old” – was in intensive care in a hospital on the Turkey border. Two raids were reported, one of which was on the mosque. They put the death toll at 12, and said that most of them were passers-by in front of the mosque. Several other sources also reported the death of two children, though in a tweet by Gnat it was said that three children from the same family were killed.

SNN also published a video showing the strike and aftermath, which they said had been carried out by “Sukhoi 24” warplanes. Other media organisations also posted footage:

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights did not identify the warplanes responsible, but said that at least 10 died, including two children “and a military commander of a battalion belonging to the Islamic Movement of Ahrar al-Sham“. It later posted a video on Twitter, showing the destruction caused. A video posted by Orient News showed what they said was a vacuum missile flying through the air and striking the mosque. It alleged that it was the work of the regime.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights also attributed the incident to the regime, and put the death toll at nine civilians. The White Helmets reported at least 10 non-combatants killed, but did not say who was responsible.

Two additional victims were named by the Violations Documentation Center. It blamed Russia.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (4)

Muhannad Abdul Khaliq
Adult male killed
Muhannad Abdul Khaliq's wife
Age unknown female killed
Muhannad Abdul Khaliq's child
Age unknown killed
Muhannad Abdul Khaliq's child
Age unknown killed

The victims were named as:

Abdul Baset Abdul Salam Jabaq
Adult male killed
Saad Mustafa Ameen Astaifi
Age unknown male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    10 – 14
  • (2–3 children1 woman3 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–25
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (38) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (19) [ collapse]

  • Bodies are lined up following a strike on Banis, May 10th (via SNN)
  • Abdul Baset Abdul Salam Jabaq (via VDC)

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Saad Mustafa Ameen Astaifi (via VDC)
  • Saad Mustafa Ameen Astaifi (via VDC)
  • Video shows the destruction caused by raids carried out by warplanes on areas on Bennesh city in Idlib province (via SOHR)
  • Ten martyrs and twenty wounded by air raids on the city of Bensh countryside Idlib (via SNN)

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    A civilian burned in warplane shelling in Binnish. (via 111_saleh)

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Three children killed all from same family in suspected Russian warplane shelling in Binnish. (via Gnat)

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Three children killed all from same family in suspected Russian warplane shelling in Binnish. (via Gnat)

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Victims of the airstrike. (via SNN)
  • Victims of the airstrike. (via SNN)
  • Aftermath of the airstrike. (via SNN)
  • Aftermath of the airstrike. (via SNN)
  • victims died in government warplanes missiles fired on Binnish city in Idlib governorate, May 10. (via SNHR)
  • government warplanes (allies) fired missiles on Al Sheikh Shu’ayeb Mosque in Binnish city in Idlib governorate, causing a massacre, damaging the mosque severely, and rendering it inoperable, May 10. (via SNHR)
  • The civil defence in the southern Aleppo countryside helps the civil defence team in Idlib to pull out the martyrs resulting from the massacre at Binsh. (via White Helmets)
  • The civil defence in the southern Aleppo countryside helps the civil defence team in Idlib to pull out the martyrs resulting from the massacre at Binsh. (via White Helmets)
  • The civil defence in the southern Aleppo countryside helps the civil defence team in Idlib to pull out the martyrs resulting from the massacre at Binsh. (via White Helmets)

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    The civil defence in the southern Aleppo countryside helps the civil defence team in Idlib to pull out the martyrs resulting from the massacre at Binsh. (via White Helmets)

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

Russia has not reported any strikes between May 1st – 31st

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    10 – 14
  • (2–3 children1 woman3 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    12–25
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (38) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS827

Incident date

June 1, 2016

Location

حي خان العسل, Khan Al Assal (Aleppo), Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.169667, 37.040255 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Three civilians including one child died and five more were injured in an alleged Russian airstrike on Khan Assal, according to local sources.

Orient News put the death toll at three and said that one of those killed was a child. It blamed Russia.

Step News Agency also said that Russia was responsible, while SRG reported that Russia had carried out raids on the neighborhood.

Radio Al Kul also put the death toll at three, with “many” injured – and attributed the incident to Russia.

Other sources, including Syrian Press Center and Baladi News Network also put the number killed at three – but did not identify the warplanes that carried out the strike.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • (1 child)
  • Civilians reported injured
    5
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (10) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • "3 people were killed and 5 were wounded due to warplane targeting Khan Al-Assal in western countryside of Aleppo in missiles"

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

Russia has not reported any strikes between June 1st – 31st 2016.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • (1 child)
  • Civilians reported injured
    5
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (10) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS859

Incident date

June 6, 2016

Location

‏العشارة‬, Al Asharah, Deir ez-Zor, Syria

Geolocation

34.92, 40.56 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between 17 and 35 civilians including eight children and two women died and up to 40 others were injured in airstrikes on a popular market and a mosque in Al Asharah town and the Al Hannoush neighbourhood, according to multiple local sources – though reports were conflicted as to whether this was an attack by Russia or the Syrian regime.

LCCSY produced a number of brief reports, and said that the attack was carried out by warplanes thought to be Russian, putting the death toll at 22 civilians including women and children with dozens more wounded. It added that deaths included an entire family.

According to Deir Ezzor is Being Slaughtered Silently, Russian warplanes struck the town with cluster bombs. It put the death toll as high as 26 non-combatants and posted an image of a funeral two allegedly deceased men.

The Shaam News Network also attributed the incident to Russia and said that 23 civilians died.

According to Baladi, the death toll was as high as 35, including eight members of one family, with another 40 injured. It blamed planes belonging to “Assad and Putin” for raids on Mansour mosque.

Media activist “Alhaji Yahya” for News Now told Akhbaralan that “regime and Russian warplanes” struck a popular market with cluster bombs, killing – among others – “four brothers who were the sons of Hussein Al-hayawi and Dawood Al-Najah and his wife and their two children“.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights didn’t say who was responsible, referring to an “aerial bombardment” on a souq which killed 17 non-combatants including and man and his wife and two of their children.

Citing the Observatory, a BBC report put the death toll at 17 including eight children,

though there was some confusion as to which party was responsible with the report saying that the UK-based Observatory had said that “Syrian government and Russian warplanes were thought to have carried out the strike”.

But the Syrian Network for Human Rights said the regime was to blame, reporting that there were at least four victims including two children.

Some other sources said that it was not known whether the warplanes responsible belonged to Russia or Assad.

In a tweet by @Zenynapisajida the figure of those injured was put to 45, they alleged 13 killed including eight children from the same family.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Mohammad Ahmad al Salama
Age unknown male killed
Saher Awwad al Mohammad al Abd
Age unknown male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    17 – 35
  • (8 children2 women2 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    10–45
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Unknown, Syrian Regime

Sources (42) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (5) [ collapse]

  • Civilians flee destruction following suspected Russian attacks on Al Ash arah ( via Alaraby)
  • The aftermath of a strike on a popular market in Al Asharah, June 5th (via Sawalif)
  • "More than 20 martyrs in Russian warplanes on Al-Asha’ara" (Youtube by Amer Howeidi)
  • "the funeral of one of the families that were killed in the cluster bombs which Russian planes fired yesterday morning" (via Deir Ezzor is being Slaughtered Silently Facebook - original page no longer available - image accessed via Airwars archive)
  • "a photo of the funeral of Mohammad Ahmad al Salama and Saher Awwad al Mohammad al Abd on Friday after they were hit by the Russian strike last Monday"(via Deir Ezzor is being Slaughtered Silently Facebook - original page no longer available - image accessed via Airwars archive)

Unknown Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Unknown
  • Unknown position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

Unknown
Official source

Russia has not reported any strikes between June 1st – 31st 2016.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    17 – 35
  • (8 children2 women2 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    10–45
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Unknown, Syrian Regime

Sources (42) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS891

Incident date

June 11, 2016

Location

كلجبرين‬, Kaljibrin, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.5359847, 37.1173525 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One child died and other civilians were injured in an airstrike on Kaljibrin, according to local sources – though reports were conflicted as to whether this was the work of Russia or the Syrian regime.

However, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the regime was responsible. They didn’t list any fatalities, but they reported that one female child was wounded.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (1)

Youssef Abbas Saqqar
Child male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 child)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (38) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    A girl is wounded following alleged regime shelling on Kaljibin (via SN4HR)

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

Russia has not reported any strikes between June 1st – 31st 2016.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Syrian Regime
  • Syrian Regime position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 child)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (38) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS923

Incident date

June 20, 2016

Location

‏كفر بسين‬, Kafr Bisin, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.2709462, 36.9960522 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One woman died and several other civilians were injured in an alleged Russian airstrike on Kafr Basin in Aleppo, according to local media.

A Tweet by thiqanewsagency said that “rocket chemistry and phosphorous bombs” were used in the attack.

HalabTodayTV also tweeted that stereochemistry had been used – it specified that these missiles were realised from Russian warplanes.

Other sources reported the incident but did not identify the culprit.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Assiya Jaloul
Adult female killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    5
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (19) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (7) [ collapse]

  • The moment an airstrike hit Kafr Bsin, June 20th 2017 (via Nabd news)
  • Video of the White Helmets rescue team pulling civilians from the rubble (Youtube by The White Helmets)
  • "one woman killed and 5 others injured following an air raid on the town of Kafr Bsin in the northern Aleppo countryside at dawn this morning" (via White Helmets Facebook) [Page no longer available - accessed via Airwars archive]
  • Aftermath of raids on Kafr Bsin (via White Helmets Facebook) [Page no longer available - accessed via Airwars archive]
  • Rescue team work through the rubble at Kafr Bsin (via White Helmets Facebook) [Page no longer available - accessed via Airwars archive]
  • @0’23” Kafr Bsin - Assiya Jaloul (Youtube by Halab Tv Today)
  • "The first moments of aerial bombardment on Kafr Bsin" (Youtube via Thiqa Agency)

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

Russia has not reported any strikes between June 1st – 31st 2016.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    5
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (19) [ collapse]