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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Russian Military
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Incident Code

RS1490

Incident date

October 20, 2016

Location

Al Jidar, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

33.556729, 36.344844 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One civilian died and several more were wounded in an airstrike on Al Jidar, local media reported. Most sources blamed Russia, though one indicated that the regime had also carried out raids on Idlib on this day.

Russia: @syriahadath reported one civilian fatality as the result of Russia shelling. The report mentioned the use of “rocket-propelled grenades”.

@EdlibEmc1 and Radio AlKul also blamed Russia, putting the death toll at one. Radio Alkul added that “several” civilians were also wounded.

However, on October 21st, Halab Today reported that “regime and Russian planes have intensified their raids on the cities and towns of Idlib province during the last 24 hours”, resulting in one death in Al Jidar – meaning that regime involvement in this event can’t be ruled out.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

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

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

On 20th October 2016, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation reported on the decisions made aimed towards stabilising the situation in Aleppo.

""Today, strikes by the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Air Force are finished at 10:00 (MSK) in the area of Aleppo. Early termination of the airstrikes is essential for holding a “humanitarian pause” on October 20, 2016”, said General of the Army Sergei Shoigu. According to him, it will allow to guarantee security of civilians leaving the city through 6 humanitarian corridors and to prepare casualty and medical evacuation from the eastern part of Aleppo.
“We apply to the leadership of countries influencing on armed formations active in the eastern part of Aleppo with a proposal to convince their leaders to stop warfare and leave the city,” stated the Minister of Defence.
According to General of the Army Sergei Shoigu, by the start of the “humanitarian pause” the Syrian troops will have been withdrawn to the distance safe for insurgents to leave the city with weapons through two special corridors: one – along the Kastello road, second – in the area of Suk al-Hai market."

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Summary

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

Incident Code

RS1598

Incident date

November 17, 2016

Location

كفر جالس, Kafr Jalis, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.976182, 36.613076 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Up to eleven civilians died, including women and children, and more than ten were injured in Kafr Jalis following alleged Russian or regime shelling, according to various local sources.

Most sources suspected six civilians killed, however, Syrian News Desk reported seven killed including more than ten injuries.

Sky News put the toll at much high, claiming that eleven died including six people from one family after their house was struck in the strikes. The source blamed the Syrian regime.

According to @mnaf1991h “mostly women” died in the attack. The Syrian Network for Human Rights put the death toll at six including three children and two women.

Aljazeera, citing the director of the Center for Civil Defense, Yahya Araja, said that the “shelling targeted the safe civilians in their homes” leading to “massive destruction”.

Reporting attributed blame to Russia, the regime and in some cases mentioned only “warplanes”.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Geolocation notes (2) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention the village of Kafr Jalis (كفر جالس), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.976182, 36.613076. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

  • Tagged visual material from sources.

  • Tagged visual material from sources

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6 – 11
  • (3 children2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–10
  • 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 (14) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (6) [ collapse]

  • The report shows the extent of destruction in Kafr Jalis following suspected Russian airstrikes, November 17th (via Jisrtv)
  • Kafr Jalis, destroyed following alleged Russian strikes, November 17th (via Qasioun)
  • Footage reveals the impact of alleged Russian warplane shelling on Kafr Jalis, November 17th (via Jisrtv)
  • The correspondent Mohemed Dagim details the extent of the damage on Kafr Jalis following suspected Russian airstrikes, November 17th (via HalabTodayTV)
  • Destruction both on the street and inside buildings throughout Kafr Jalis following suspected Russian airstrikes, November 17th (via Edlib Media Center)

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 specific strikes between November 1st – 30th 2016.

On 6 January 2017, Russia, however, reported: “Since November 8, 2016, the aircraft carrier group of the Northern Fleet consisting of the heavy aircraft carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov, the heavy nuclear missile cruiser Pyotr Velikiy, the large ASW ship Severomorsk, as well as auxiliary vessels of the Black Sea Fleet, has been fulfilling counterterrorist missions on the territory of Syria”, adding that ”in the course of two months of their participation in the combat actions, naval aviation pilots have carried out 420 combat sorties, 117 of them were night ones”.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6 – 11
  • (3 children2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–10
  • 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 (14) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS1850

Incident date

January 21, 2017

Location

عقيربات, Akeirbat, Hama, Syria

Geolocation

35.0412099, 37.464692 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On January 21, 2017, local media sources reported that one child died and several other civilians were wounded in an alleged Russian airstrike on Akeirbat in the countryside in the east of the Hama region in Syria.

No further details are currently available.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Akeirbat (عقيربات), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.0412099, 37.464692. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 child)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • 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 (5) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 child)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • 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 (5) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS009

Incident date

October 2, 2015

Location

تادف, Tadif, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.34857, 37.531501 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Intense bombardment was reported on the 2nd of October 2016 in and around the province of Aleppo.  In the town of Tadef two people were reported to have been killed as a result raids that were widely blamed on Russia.

Only one source, Sada Islamic, blamed the coalition for the strikes publishing photos of the aftermath.  They were also the only source to mention one victim instead of two.  None of the sources named the victims.

Centcom press release covering the period made no mention of strikes in the area.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, US-led Coalition

Sources (4) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • Photo showing the aftermath of raids on Tadef and blaming 'Crusader Nusairi Coalition' (via Sada Islamic)
  • Photo showing the aftermath of raids on Tadef and blaming 'Crusader Nusairi Coalition' (via Sada Islamic)
  • Photo showing the aftermath of raids on Tadef and blaming 'Crusader Nusairi Coalition' (via Sada Islamic)

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Unknown
  • English
    /
    Original

US-led Coalition Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US-led Coalition
  • US-led Coalition position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, US-led Coalition

Sources (4) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS041

Incident date

October 14, 2015

Location

الزيارة, Al Zeyara, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.66215, 37.5944 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

The Syrian Network for Human Rights named a civilian male who was reported killed by cluster munitions following an alleged Russian airstrike on the town of Al Zeyara.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Abdullah Hallajj
Adult male killed

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Zeyara (الزيارة), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.66215, 37.5944. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • 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]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Video showing engineers dismantling the cluster bombs that hit the village of Al Zeyara, 16th October 2015. (via Liwa Al Fatah Brigade)

Unknown Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Unknown
Official source

Russia has confirmed carrying out airstrikes in Aleppo governorate on October 14th-15th 2015: “The Russian aircraft performed 33 combat sorties from Hmeymim airbase engaging 32 ISIS infrastructural facilities in the Idlib, Hama, Damascus, Aleppo and Deir ez-Zor provinces. The flight intensity of the Russian Aerospace Forces has decreased…

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • 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

RS074

Incident date

October 23, 2015

Location

حيان, Hayyan, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.32417, 37.05886 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

The Shaam News Network and others alleged that Russian aircraft had dropped cluster munitions (pictured below) in northern Aleppo governorate. Two civilians were killed, named as Hussein Adel Osso and Mohamad Yehya Al Seraj. Five others were injured in the evening strike, including a member of the local civil defence team.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Mohamad Yehya Al Seraj
Adult male killed
Hussein Adel Osso
Adult male killed

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Hayyan (حيان), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.32417, 37.05886. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (2 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    4–5
  • 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 (9) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (6) [ collapse]

  • Translation: civil defence in the town of Hayyan in Aleppo countryside deactivating cluster bombs fired by Russian planes.
  • Translation: the fall of many wounded following air raids carried out by Russian warplanes on the town of Hayyan in northern Aleppo countryside
  • Civil defence in the town of Hayyan in Aleppo countryside deactivating cluster bombs fired by Russian planes. (via Halab Today TV)
  • civil defence in the town of Hayyan in Aleppo countryside deactivating cluster bombs fired by Russian planes.
  • Civil defence in the town of Hayyan in Aleppo countryside deactivating cluster bombs fired by Russian planes. (via Halab Today TV)

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Civil defence buried Hussein Adel Osso who was martyred as a result of Russian warplane raids on the town of Hayyan with more than a 100 cluster bombs. (via Civil Defence Aleppo)

Unknown Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Unknown
Official source

There is no published Russian Defence Ministry record for October 23rd-24th 2015.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (2 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    4–5
  • 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 (9) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS107

Incident date

November 1, 2015

Location

معرتماتر, Ma’ar Tamater, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.570000, 36.548889 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A child named as Ahmad Ali al-Yousef was reported killed following an alleged Russian or Assad regime airstrike on Ma’artamater.

The Violations Documentation Center and Syrian Observatory blamed Russia. The pro-regime Shaam Times – citing “military sources” – confirmed that unspecified aircraft had supported ground operations at Ma’artamater. And the Damascus Centre for Human Rights blamed the Assad regime.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the village Ma’ar Tamater (معرتماتر), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.570000, 36.548889. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 child)
  • 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 (6) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • a Raid by warplanes targeting the village of Ma’artamater in the southern Idlib countryside on 1/11/2015

Unknown Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Unknown
Official source

In its report for military actions on October 31st-November 2nd 2015, the Kremlin made no mention of strikes in Idlib 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 child)
  • 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 (6) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS142

Incident date

November 12, 2015

Location

كفر زيتة, Kafr Zita, Hama, Syria

Geolocation

35.37425, 36.6033 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One civilian man was reported killed when Russian warplanes allegedly launched several airstrikes using vacuum missiles. The Union of Hama Rebels later claimed there were 15 Russian raids on the town that morning.

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Moheeb Arafat
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • 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 (12) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • The video posted by Union of the revolutionaries Hama: A tour of the eastern neighbourhood of Kfar Zeita and the destruction of the Russian bombing
  • the photo published by VDC for the victim (Moheeb Arafat) from Kafer Zita as result of the strike.
  • This is another photo of (Moheeb Arafat) however - However, who posted the image said he is a terrorist fighter

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

Russia has reported carrying out strikes in Hama governorate between November 11th-12th 2015.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • 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 (12) [ collapse]