Russian Military in Syria

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

Belligerent
Russian Military
Country
Syria
start date
end date
Civilian Harm Status
Belligerent Assessment
Declassified Documents
Infrastructure

Incident Code

R4498a

Incident date

January 19, 2023

Location

قسطون, Qastoun, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

Four to nine civilians, including three children and a woman, were reported injured as a result of alleged Russian forces, Syrian regime, or Iranian militia artillery fire on January 19th 2023 in Qastoun, Idlib, according to local sources.

According to the Syrian Civil Defense, four civilians were injured from the same family (three children and their grandmother). One child was reported to be in critical condition. The artillery fire hit their home in the village south of Idlib.

@mzmgr941 identified the injured as slightly different including two men, and three children, and that the names of those injured were: Riyad Radwan Ahmed Attia Al-Khalil, aged 7; Ahmed Radwan Attia Al-Khalil, aged five; Abdel-Dominant Khalil, aged 35; Khalil Juma Muhammad Al-Hamoud, aged 35; and another “injured girl.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the number of injured at five, including three children. Alaraby News put the number of casualties at nine injuries, adding that the shelling struck civilian homes and close to the vicinity of the Turkish base in Qastoun.

The majority of sources attributed the shelling to the Syrian regime forces, while the Syrian Civil Defense blamed both the Syrian regime and Russian forces and @Almohrar1 identified the “Russian external occupation” as being responsible. Daily Sabah News, a Turkish pro-government source, quoted “civilian sources” who said that the Syrian regime and accompanying Iranian militias in the village of Jourin launched the artillery shelling.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (3)

Riyad Radwan Ahmed Attia Al-Khali
7 years old injured
Ahmed Radwan Atiya Al-Khalil
5 years old injured
Abdel-Dominant Khalil Khalil
35 years old male injured

The victims were named as:

Juma Muhammad Al-Hamoud
35 years old male injured

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    4–9
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • 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, Iranian Military
  • Suspected target
    Turkish Forces

Sources (17) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (9) [ collapse]

  • Civil Defense volunteers respond to civilians injured by shelling in Qastoun on January 19, 2023. (Image posted by Syrian Civil Defense via Twitter)
  • Civil Defense volunteers respond to civilians injured by shelling in Qastoun on January 19, 2023. (Image posted by Syrian Civil Defense via Twitter)
  • Civil Defense volunteers respond to civilians injured by shelling in Qastoun on January 19, 2023. (Image posted by Syrian Civil Defense via Twitter)
  • Civil Defense volunteers respond to civilians injured by shelling in Qastoun on January 19, 2023. (Image posted by Syrian Civil Defense via Twitter)
  • "3 children, their grandmother, and a child from another family were wounded in artillery shelling by the regime forces and Russia, targeting their house in the village of Qastun in Sahl al-Ghab, south of Idlib" (@HalabTodayTV)
  • shelling in Qastoun on January 19, 2023. (Image posted by @Almohrar1 )
  • "#injuries The child, Riyad Radwan Ahmed Attia Al-Khalil, 7 years old The child Ahmed Radwan Atiya Al-Khalil, 5 years old There is also an injured girl The young man, Abdel-Dominant Khalil Khalil, 35 years old The young man, Juma Muhammad Al-Hamoud, 35 years old" (Image posted by @AlsarwtJ)

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Iranian Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    4–9
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • 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, Iranian Military
  • Suspected target
    Turkish Forces

Sources (17) [ collapse]

Incident Code

R4529

Incident date

July 10, 2023

Location

كفرعمة, Kafer Amme, Aleppo, Syria

Airwars assessment

On Monday, July 10th 2023, an alleged artillery shelling by Syrian regime forces and Russian armed forces hit the village of Kafarama (or Kafr Amma), west of Aleppo, northwest Syria, injuring one civilian.

Sources including @SyriaCivilDefe, @HalabTodayTV twitter accounts, and Orient News reported one civilian, a woman, being injured by the airstrike on the village.

Orient, Baladi, and @SyriaCivilDefe twitter account also reported that the attack took place on the village of Kafarama, in the western countryside of Aleppo as a result of heavy artillery shelling.

The suspected attackers are alleged to be Russia and Syrian regime forces, as reported by most of the sources including @SyriaCivilDefe and @Almohrarmedia2 twitter accounts, with some accusing either Russia or the Syrian regime.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • 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 (11) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • 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 (11) [ collapse]

Incident Code

R4556

Incident date

September 19, 2023

Location

الفطيرة, Al Fatira, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

At least two farmers were injured during the afternoon of September 19, 2023, by an artillery strike allegedly from the Syrian regime and/or Russian forces in the town of Al-Fatira, in the south of Idlib. The @SyriaCivilDefe reported the farmers were injured while picking figs and received treatment in a hospital in the city of Idlib.

According to a correspondent from the Baladi News, the farmers were injured to varying degrees of seriousness from artillery shelling, reportedly from the Syrian Regime and the militias supporting it. However, @VedengAgency1 and @ralshhwan9 attributed the shelling to Russian forces, who reportedly launched more than 30 rockets and artillery shells at the town of Al-Fatira.

The incident occured in the afternoon.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Agriculture
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Impact
    Food
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected attackers
    Syrian Regime, Russian Military

Sources (10) [ collapse]

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Agriculture
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Impact
    Food
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected attackers
    Syrian Regime, Russian Military

Sources (10) [ collapse]

Incident Code

TS054 RS1847a

Incident date

January 18, 2017

Location

الباب, Al Bab city, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.371972, 37.51631 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A single source, Halab News, reported eight of the nine civilians in “Russian enemy raids” in Tadef, Syria. It also named the victims.

According to Al Jazeera, “The Russian and Turkish air forces, for the first time, carried out a joint operation against militants of the Islamic State Organization in Bab in countryside of, Aleppo, in an agreement with the Syrian regime, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.”

However, the US-led Coalition also reportedly carried out strikes on Al Bab. Shahed-ayan.co reported: “The United States-led International Alliance announced on Tuesday (January 17th) that it had launched four air raids for the first time near the city of Bab in support of the Turkish-led military operation against the Da’ash organization in northern Syria. ‘We have spotted targets near Bab al-Bab in cooperation with Turkey, and we expect to continue this type of raid,’ said coalition military spokesman Col. John Durian at a news conference in Baghdad.
‘We noticed an opportunity in which it was in our common interest to destroy those targets, which included an armored personnel carrier and tactical units of the organization,’ Durian said.”

According to Terror Monitor, “AR ISIS published photos claiming to be targeting heavy weapons in the west of the city of Bab in the countryside of Aleppo.”

Misrin Post added that the regime also carried out raids on Tadef.

However, none of these sources made any mention of civilian harm.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Ibrahim Hassan al Zein
Age unknown male named by Halab News reported as killed by Russian forces killed
Ahmad Jumaa al Zein
Age unknown male named by Halab News reported as killed by Russian forces killed
Abd al Hamid Rahmo Dalati
Age unknown male named by Halab News reported as killed by Russian forces killed
Hussam Mohammad Sobhi al Othman
Age unknown male named by Halab News reported as killed by Russian forces killed
Wife of Mahmoud al Eido
Age unknown female named by Halab News reported as killed by Russian forces killed
Daughter of Mahmoud al Eido
Age unknown female named by Halab News reported as killed by Russian forces killed
Ahmad Wahab al Raziya
Age unknown male named by Halab News reported as killed by Russian forces killed
Yahiya Ahmad Khalilo
Age unknown male named by Halab News reported as killed by Russian forces killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    9
  • (1 child1 woman)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Turkish Military, Russian Military

Sources (5) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • "The military aircraft of the regime forces targeted several raids in the city of Bab in the countryside of eastern Aleppo." (via mersin_post)
  • ISIS published photos claiming to be targeting heavy weapons in the west of the city of Bab in the countryside of Aleppo. (via TerrorMonitorAR)

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Al Bab city (الباب), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.371972, 37.51631. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Turkish Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

UK Military
  • English
    /
    Original

Wednesday 18 January – Tornados destroyed a terrorist armed truck near Al Bab in Syria…Surveillance and strike operations have also been maintained against Daesh in Syria, and on Wednesday 18 January, Tornados conducted an armed reconnaissance patrol near Al Bab, where they used a Paveway IV to destroy an armed truck which Daesh had attempted to conceal in a vehicle shelter.

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    9
  • (1 child1 woman)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Turkish Military, Russian Military

Sources (5) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS028

Incident date

October 8, 2015

Location

بليون, Belyon, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.696091, 36.504654 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Six people were reported killed at Belyon due to warplane shelling. VDC named one woman as a victim of the strike.

Smart News later posted a video showing a civilian clear-up operation in the village. One witness noted: “Here there were six martyrs, two from the village of Balian and four displaced from Sahil Al Ghab. Are these the terrorists? There were two women, two children and two older men over 60 or 70 years old. We don’t have any armed elements either in the bombed area or outside of it. Russian planes are using around 8 bombs for each raid. We could tell it was Russian planes via some sources. The pilot was speaking Russian.”

Another witness said “I suddenly saw a red line descend from the sky to the ground. It struck just 100 meters this way and then they came back and struck this way killing lots of people.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Adult female VDC says she is from Badria but killed in Balyoun due to Russian shelling. killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6
  • (2 children2 women2 men)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Unknown

Sources (2) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Belyon (بليون), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.696091, 36.504654. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Unknown Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Unknown

Russia reported a total of 22 lethal sorties for October 8th 2015, although made no mention of Idlib governorate.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6
  • (2 children2 women2 men)
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Unknown

Sources (2) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS061

Incident date

October 20, 2015

Location

سرمين, Sarmin, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.904042, 36.726111 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Russian airstrikes killed at least 14 non-combatants according to multiple accounts.

The first strike at 1pm hit near a school and a field hospital in the town of Sarmin run by the Syrian-American Medical Society (SAMS.) A secondary strike or ‘double tap – captured on camera – shows an apparently deliberate attack on rescue workers clearing the streets.

Among the dead were a physiotherapist, a nurse and a ‘White Helmet’ civil defence worker Abdul Razak al-Aboud (see below.)

A witness named as ‘S M’ told the Syrian Network: “The first missile fell on a school and a hospital. The civil defense teams some paramedics and media activists rushed to the shelling site. The shelling caused material damages and some injures. However, 15 minutes later, another rocket was shelled in the exact same location. During the second shelling, I noticed a gleam like the camera’s flash and did not hear the plane’s sound. After that I felt that I was picked pushed upwards from the blasts’ power. Everything around me was white and dusty and I smell blood and gun powder. I thought that I had died. The attack resulted in the death of 17 individuals including civil defense members, paramedics and media activists.

Speaking to the Guardian, Dr Mohamed Tennari, the director of Sarmin hospital, “said his facility appeared to have been directly targeted and could no longer serve patients on one of the fiercest frontlines in the war.”

A Russian Defence Ministry spokesman brushed aside the allegations, claiming the Syrian-American Medical Society “has the same relation to medicine and doctors as the ISIL to the international Scouting movement.” However, an investigation by Amnesty International challenged satellite images which Russia said proved it had not targeted the field hospital: “Infrastructure that appears damaged or destroyed in footage immediately after the attack is seen intact in the satellite image presented by Russian authorities, indicating the satellite image is from before the attack.”

Four months after the event a man named by the VDC as Hsain Diab also died of injuries sustained in the attack.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Hsain Diab
Adult male killed
Abdul Rahman Maari
Adult male killed
Abdul Razak al-Aboud
Adult male White Helmets rescuer killed
Musbah Qassas
Adult male killed
Mazen Ismael Aaref Haj Ali
Adult male killed
Mustafa Mohammad Burghosh
Adult male killed
Dr Hasan Ahmad Taj Eddin
Adult male psychotherapist killed
Abdul Kader Ebbo
Adult male killed
Ziad Meteib
Adult male killed
Khaldoun Mohammad Sawas
Adult male hospital guard killed
Mohammad Mustafa Sawas
Adult male killed
Mohammad Abdul Kader Sallura
Adult male killed
Abdul Razak Abo Tair
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Civilian infrastructure
    Healthcare facility, School
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    14 – 17
  • (13 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    28–30
  • 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 (24) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (9) [ collapse]

  • A White Helmet camera captures moment of 'double tap' strike on Sarmeen, Oct 20th 2015 via White Helmets
  • An image that depicts the shelling aftermath on one of the targeted schools (via SN4HR)
  • an image that depicts the shelling aftermath on Sermeen makeshift hospital (via SN4HR)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    an image that depicts the injured members from the civil defense after they were targeted by alleged Russian warplanes. (via SN4HR)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    "The signs of destruction following the targeting of Russian planes of one of the schools in Sarmeen, Idlib. 20/10/2015” (via Step News)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    "The place of the massacre carried out by the Russian warplanes in Sarmeen, Idlib. 20-10-2015" (via Step News)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    "A video that depicts the moment of the second attack on the gathering of the civil defence members." ( (via civil defence in Idlib)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    An image of the civil defense member who was killed due to the alleged Russian shelling. (via SN4HR)

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military

The Kremlin confirmed carrying out strikes at Sarmin for October 20th-21st 2015, noting: “On October 19, the means of radio interception received information concerning the meeting of commanders of illegal armed groups operating near Sarmin (Idlib province). After additional check of the information through other channels concerning the time and place of the meeting, there was made a decision to make a strike on the meeting place of the militants’ commanders.“

Summary

  • Civilian infrastructure
    Healthcare facility, School
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    14 – 17
  • (13 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    28–30
  • 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 (24) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS093

Incident date

October 30, 2015

Location

تلبيسة, Talbisah, Homs, Syria

Geolocation

34.840505, 36.72922 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One civilian male was killed and several non-combatants injured “including women and children” following an alleged Russian strike on Talbiseh.

The man – named by Violations Documentation Center as Iyad Hsain Jomaa Al Latouf – was also shown in a graphic video depicting his body.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members

The victims were named as:

Iyad Hsain Jomaa Al Latouf
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Unknown

Sources (5) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    photo of Iyad Hsain Jomaa Al Latouf (via VDC)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Video showing the body of Iyad Hsain Jomaa Al Latouf (via SRG)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Video showing the body of Iyad Hsain Jomaa Al Latouf (via Talbisa h)

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Talbisah (تلبيسة), for which the generic coordinates are: 34.840505, 36.72922. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Unknown Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Unknown

The Russian MoD issued no report for the period October 28th-30th 2015. A monthly summary was issued on the evening of October 30th.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Unknown

Sources (5) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS128

Incident date

November 7, 2015

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

The White Helmets reported that one woman was killed and several other civilians injured following an alleged strike by Russian planes.

The event may be linked to the previous incident between Kafr Naha and Khan al Assal. The only woman as listed by VDC as killed in an airstrike that day was Halima Abid al Sleiman, who was reported to have died either in an Assad regime or Russian action.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Halima Abid al Sleiman
Adult female killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 woman)
  • 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 (11) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • Members of The White Helmets place a body in an ambulance, following an alleged Russian raid in Khan Al A'assal, November 7th (via The White Helmets)
  • Members of The White Helmets searching the place where an alleged Russian raid in Khan Al A'assal, November 7th (via The White Helmets)

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military

Russia confirms in its report covering November 6th-9th 2015 carrying out strikes in Aleppo governorate.

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 woman)
  • 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 (11) [ collapse]