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

R4578

Incident date

October 5–6, 2023

Location

دارة عزة, Darat Izza, west of Aleppo, Aleppo, Syria

Airwars assessment

From the evening of Thursday, October 5th, 2023, and during the morning of Friday, October 6th, 2023, the repeated artillery bombardment with contested responsibility allegedly perpetrated by the Syrian regime forces and/or regime-associated militias or Russian and/or Iranian militias struck a residential neighborhood in Darat Izza, west of Aleppo, Syria, reportedly killing up to four civilians, including three children, and injuring  up to 15 civilians. Two women, six children, and a Civil Defense volunteer were among the injured.

Syrian Civil Defense (SCD) reported that the first attack was in the evening of Thursday, but the repeated missile bombardment allegedly happened also after midnight, hitting the city’s residential neighborhoods, the popular market, a mosque, and a gas station.

Many videos on social media captured the artillery strikes. On the videos shared by Al-Jazzera and Syria TV sounds of explosions can be heard. A journalist Anas Maarawi (@anasanas84) reported at 12:42 AM on Friday that the bombing already lasted for two hours and was not stopping, while more than 40 missiles and shells were used. He shared a video with the sounds of explosions where the prayer “Ya Latif” (Gracious Allah) used when facing something terrifying could be heard.

A Twitter/X user Mix World (@alking14399969) shared a video of bombardement at 1:29 AM, noting that “the hysterical bombardement of the city” was stiil continuing. A journalist Muhammad Abu Al-Huda Al-Homsi (@aboalhodaalhoms) posted a striking video where he himself had to hide from the artillery while reporting.

Last but not least, a reportage by Syrian journalist M.Faisal (@mhmdfaisel) featured an elderly man who was a witness of the strike. He said the following: “I fell asleep for five minutes, and my neighbours have called me. Come, your shop was bombed. I came and saw my shop bombed. I can only say thank God, in any case”.

According to Syrian Civil Defense, the bombardment led to the death of three civilians and injujries of 15, including two women and six children. SCD also reported that its volunteer Mahmoud Al-Hassan was injured while in his home. In addition, SCD shared images of the inspected places affected by the strikes where rubble and burnt cars can be seen and images of the wounded civilians being treated in the hospital. Darat Azza also shared a video on Facebook showing the injured civilians, including children, being treated in a hospital in Darat Azza.

The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights (SOHR) reported four civilian deaths, where three of these were reported to be children, and seven injuries from the “intense artillery shelling carried out by members of the regime forces”. Syria TV also reported about four casualties. Twitter/X user @Rian_almasri also reported four killed civilians, sharing the graphic images of the dead bodies.

Missile strikes were reported to have destroyed civilian homes and shops, evidenced by images in the Facebook post by Darat Azza. Ariha TV reported on October 6 that there was a large evacuation from the city because of the attacks.

The majority of reports, with one exception, claimed the civilians were targeted; however, a Twitter/X account @SAMSyria0 claimed the strike targeted the city as it was gathering Al Nusra militants.

Whilst a majority of reports attributed the strike to the Syrian regime forces and/or regime associated militia, a Facebook user Ibrahim Radwan attributed all the recent bombings in Syria, including the Darat Izza strikes, to the militias of Iran and Russia. Therefore, the Airwars has graded both Strike Status and Civilian Harm as Contested.

The exact local time of the incident is unknown, but it was reported that the strikes started in the evening of October 5 and continued at least till 1:29 AM on October 6.

The incident occured during the night.

The victims were named as:

Mahmoud Al-Hassan محمود الحسن
Age unknown male SCD volunteer injured

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Marketplace, Religious Institution
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 4
  • (2–3 children1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    7–15
  • 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,Healthcare
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime, Iranian Military

Sources (31) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (33) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @SyriaCivilDefe

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    Source: @SyriaCivilDefe

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    Source: @SyriaCivilDefe

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    Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: Darat Azza
  • Source: Darat Azza
  • Source: Darat Azza
  • Source: Darat Azza
  • Source: Darat Azza
  • Source: Darat Azza
  • Source: Ahmed Abdel Malik
  • Source: Bench services
  • Source: Obada

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @Rian_almasri

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    Source: @Rian_almasri

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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 infrastructure
    Marketplace, Religious Institution
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 4
  • (2–3 children1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    7–15
  • 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,Healthcare
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime, Iranian Military

Sources (31) [ collapse]

Incident Code

R4568

Incident date

October 5, 2023

Location

سرمين, Sarmin, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

On Thursday October 5th 2023, artillery strikes allegedly perpetrated by the Syrian regime and/or Russian military on the city of Sarmin injured between 10 and 15 civilians, including 3 children and 2 women.

Most sources, including Syrian Civil Defence (SCD), reported that 10 civilians, including three children and two women, were injured and shared photos and videos of children receiving treatment within ambulances run by their teams. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that 15 civilians were injured in this incident, which was a part of dozens of shelling, artillery and missile incidents across the Idlib countryside. None of the injured victims have currently been named.

SCD also shared that the artillery damaged Sarmin’s residential neighbourhood infrastructure and two schools, one which was named as Hussein al Hajj Abboud. Syria TV posted that the strikes had caused civilians to be displaced from Sarmin as a result of the continuous shelling.

SOHR, alongside numerous local news sources such as Idlib Media Center, attributed the attack to the Syrian regime. The Coordination of the Syrian Revolution also suspected the involvement of the Russian military, however there have been no official statements taking responsibility from either suspected belligerent.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian infrastructure
    School
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    10–15
  • 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
    Education
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected attackers
    Syrian Regime, Russian Military

Sources (16) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (8) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @SyriaCivilDefe

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe

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    Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: Idlib Media Center

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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
    School
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    10–15
  • 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
    Education
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected attackers
    Syrian Regime, Russian Military

Sources (16) [ collapse]

Incident Code

R4570

Incident date

October 5, 2023

Location

أريحا, Ariha, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

On 5 October 2023, intense artillery and missile bombardments allegedly by the Syrian regime and/or Russian Military caused the death of at least one civilian and the injury of 14 civilians, including 4 children and 3 women, in the city of Ariha (Jericho).

A Facebook post from local source “Jericho, the bride of the north” included the names of some of the identified victims: a woman named Bushra Habboush who was killed by the attack, and Ahmad Al Jasem from Hawir Al-Eis, Ahmad Al Zain, Mohammed Bassam Zanab, Shahed Yousef Saado, Fatima Ahmad Saynon, a 3-year old and a 14-year old child, all of them injured.

The Syrian Civil Defense reported that a missile bombardment on the city of Ariha (Jericho) resulted in the death of a woman and the injury of 14 civilians, including 4 children and 3 women. However, the Political Keys correspondent @political_keys identified one person killed and eight injuries resulting.

According to Syrian Civil Defense the bombings affected a considerable number of vital and public facilities in the city. Additionally, the ambulance and the center’s fire annex were damaged. The bombardment consisted of dozens of shells fired from rocket launchers that led to great destruction in the city. Other sources report that the attacks consisted of the bombardment of 40 missile launchers. In the midst of this, the Syrian Defense team responded by working on the removal of the rubble that blocked the roads.

The Al-Masdar News Agency reported to be monitoring the effects of the destruction from the intense bombardment in Ariha.

Sources were conflicted as to who was responsible for the shelling, with sources including @​​Najdat567 reporting that Syrian regime forces stations in checkpoints were responsible while Revolution Coordination identified both the Syrian regime and Russian forces as responsible, and other sources only mentioned “militias” as being involved.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Bushra Habboush بشرى حبوش
Age unknown female killed
Ahmad Al Jasem أحمد الجاسم
Age unknown injured
Ahmad Al Zain أحمد الزين
Age unknown injured
Mohammed Bassam Zanab محمد بسام زعنب
Age unknown injured
Shahed Yousef Saado شهد يوسف سعدو
Age unknown injured
Fatima Ahmad Saynon فاطمة أحمد صينون
Age unknown injured

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    8–14
  • 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 (29) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (39) [ collapse]

  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @Military_OSTX
  • Source: @Military_OSTX
  • Source: @Military_OSTX
  • Source: @Najdat567
  • Source: @HalabTodayTV
  • Source: @ralshhwan9
  • Source: @ralshhwan9
  • Source: Ariha Today
  • Source: Al-Masdar News Agency
  • Source: Al-Masdar News Agency
  • Source: Al-Masdar News Agency
  • Source: Al-Masdar News Agency
  • Source: Al-Masdar News Agency
  • Source: Al-Masdar News Agency
  • Source: Al-Masdar News Agency
  • Source: Syrian Civil Defense
  • Source: Syrian Civil Defense
  • Source: Syrian Civil Defense
  • Source: Syrian Civil Defense
  • Source: Syrian Civil Defense
  • Source: Syrian Civil Defense
  • Source: Syrian Civil Defense
  • Source: Civil Defense Idlib
  • Source: Civil Defense Idlib
  • Source: Idlib today
  • Source: Al mohrar
  • Source: Al mohrar
  • Source: Muhammad Al-Rihawi

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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
    1
  • (1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    8–14
  • 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 (29) [ collapse]

Incident Code

R4571

Incident date

October 5, 2023

Location

مجدليا, Majdalya, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

At least one civilian was injured after an alleged Syrian regime and/or Russian-affiliated missile strike on the town of Majdalya, in southern Idlib, on October 5th, 2023.

Most sources reported that one civilian was injured. However, a Facebook post from Muhammad al-Adlabi claimed that a man “and his child” had been injured, but this has not been corroborated elsewhere. Other identifying characteristics, including names, have not been released.

While some sources, including Syrian Civil Defense, attributed the strike to “regime forces,” Muhammad Al-Adlabi attributed strikes across Syria, including Majdalya, to the Syrian regime and Russian forces/

The missile bombardment, which has been described as “intense,” led to the destruction of several homes and other properties, meaning numerous families were displaced.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1–2
  • 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.
  • Suspected attackers
    Syrian Regime, Russian Military

Sources (15) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (6) [ collapse]

  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe

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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
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1–2
  • 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.
  • Suspected attackers
    Syrian Regime, Russian Military

Sources (15) [ collapse]

Incident Code

R4572

Incident date

October 5, 2023

Location

دير سنبل, Deir Sinbol, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

At least one woman was injured after alleged Syrian regime and/or Russian artillery hit the town of Deir Sinbol on October 5th, 2023. Neither the woman’s name, nor other identifying characteristics, have been made available.

@MohamadDaba9966 reported that the strike hit an armed vehicle, “killing and wounding” those inside the car “on the #Hantoutin-#Dersanbel road” but it is unclear if this is the same incident as it does appear that the injured woman was wounded in the village itself.

It is unclear which party was directly responsible for the strike. One source, @NagiNajjar on Twitter, attributed the strike to “Assad’s gangs” —pointing to Syrian regime involvement. Others claimed international involvement, such as @mhmdfaisel on Twitter/X, who alleged that the strike occurred because of “the Assad militia, Iran, and Russia.” @alking14399969 corroborated this, claiming that “Russian reconnaissance aircraft” was responsible. Mars Idlb on Facebook states that Syrian regime affiliates were stationed at checkpoints near the village, and it was from this position that the artillery strikes were fired.

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
    Syrian Regime, Russian Military

Sources (13) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (4) [ collapse]

  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe

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 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
    Syrian Regime, Russian Military

Sources (13) [ collapse]

Incident Code

R4573

Incident date

October 5, 2023

Location

بنش, Binnish, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

At least one man was injured after alleged Syrian regime and/or Russian artillery shelling in the southern periphery of the town of Binnish, east of Idlib on October 5th, 2023.

On Facebook, Bunch Now alleged that there were “light injuries” amongst the civilian population, but multiple injuries were not reported elsewhere. Syrian Civil Defense reported that they checked the area the evening of the strike, and confirmed there were no more injured.

The strike also led to destruction of property—a school was damaged, and has been referred to as either the Ibn Khaldoun School or the Farid Qabbani School. It is possible that both schools were hit.

Identification of the belligerent is contested: while some sources attributed the  strike to regime forces or regime-affiliated militias, Abu Muhammad Binsh, in a post on Facebook, pointed to Iranian militia involvement, and a Facebook post from Coordination of the Syrian Revolution mentioned potential Russian collusion. Q Street Journal on Twitter/X reported that the belligerents were targeting “militant positions.”

Numerous sources described the artillery as “intensive” and “violent.” Another source, @rh_albasha, stated that the bombardment was of the type “considered the most violent.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian infrastructure
    School
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1–2
  • 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
    Education
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (20) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (9) [ collapse]

  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: Aziz Asmar
  • Source: Media office in Binnish
  • Source: Media office in Binnish
  • Source: @qstreetjournal

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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 infrastructure
    School
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1–2
  • 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
    Education
    Impact on services or infrastructure relating to education, health or food supply. See methodology note for details.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (20) [ collapse]

Incident Code

R4584

Incident date

October 6, 2023

Location

بداما, Badama, Idlib, Idlib Governorate, Syria

Airwars assessment

On October 6th, 2023 a missile strike, allegedly launched by Russian warplanes and/or Syrian regime artillery shelling, hit the rural town of Badama near the city Jisr al-Shughur, west of Idlib (during the day, according to photographic evidence shared on social media), resulting in the injury of 14 civilians, including four children and four women.

The strike affected especially the Al-Shakhaib farm, as reported by Syria TV. The Syrian Civil Defence (aka White Helmets), who provided assistance and rescue after the attack, reported on their Twitter account that 14 civilians had been injured, including 4 women and 4 children. One of these children is named “Muhammad”, and he was wounded in the head and left unconscious by the impact – described as “Muhammad does not know why they put gauze on his head and how he was injured. He sleeps from his fatigue and pain with his innocent face scratched by missile fragments, and the colors of blood mixed with the fabric of his nice clothes.”

According to @dulama_1, the strike also hit the house of a quadriplegic elderly man, portrayed lying on his bed with debris surrounding his room, in a photo circulating online.

While the majority of sources attributed the civilian casualties to Russian airstrikes, Ariha TV blamed artillery shelling from the Syrian regime checkpoints. Multiple sources, including @Ahmad_1alshble, mentioned that vacuum missiles were used in the attack.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Agriculture
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    14
  • 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
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (24) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (20) [ collapse]

  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @SyriaCivilDefe

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @dulama_1
  • Source: @Ahmad_1alshble
  • Source: @Ahmad_1alshble
  • Source: @zainaldinmaham1
  • Source: @altwylll
  • Source: @altwylll
  • Source: Idlib
  • Source: Idlib

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    Source: Al Jazeera - Syria

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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
    Airstrike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Agriculture
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    14
  • 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
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (24) [ collapse]

Incident Code

R4586

Incident date

October 6, 2023

Location

أريحا, city of Ariha, south of Idlib, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

On the evening of Friday, October 6th, 2023, residential neighborhoods of the city of Ariha located south of Idlib, Syria, were subject to an artillery bombardment with contested responsibility— reportedly perpetrated by the Syrian regime forces and/or the Russian military— that injured two civilian men, one of whom later died of his wounds.

One of civilians, Ismail Saleh Qaddad, reportedly suffered a fatal serious head injury. The other individual, Ahmed Mustafa Baroudi, sustained a foot injury. The Syrian Civil Defense reported the casualties both as civilians. Journalist Ahmed Bakour shared images of the severely injured Ismail with blood covering his eyes being treated by doctors and of Ahmed where his leg injury can be seen.

Tariq Jama wrote a Facebook tribute to Ismail Qaddad who died of his injuries on October 7th, 2023, mentioning that “He moved to the mercy of God Almighty” and sharing an image of the middle-aged bearded man in a kufiya.

The Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, was involved in rescue operations, including the evacuation of a civilian who was injured and stranded on the roof of a residential building. According to the SCD, the intense and continuous bombing in the Idlib countryside has significantly heightened fear among residents, leading to such dangerous situations.

While the strike was attributed to the Syrian regime forces by most sources, some tweets attributed it to Russian military.

The incident occured in the evening.

The victims were named as:

Ismail Qaddad اسماعيل قداد
Adult male killed
Ahmed Mustafa Baroudi أحمد مصطفى بارودي
Adult male injured

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • 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 (19) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (5) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: @SyriaCivilDefe

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Journalist Ahmed Bakour Home

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Journalist Ahmed Bakour Home
  • Source: Tariq Jama

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

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
    1
  • (1 man)
  • 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 (19) [ collapse]