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

RS4044

Incident date

August 17, 2019

Location

خان شيخون, Khan Sheikhoun, Idlib , Syria

Airwars assessment

Two civilians were reported killed in alleged Russian airstrikes on Khan Sheikhoun, Idlib, on August 17th.

Syrian Network for Human Rights stated that “Mohammad Ma’arati and Abdul Latif Tallawi were killed as warplanes we believe were Russian fired missiles on Khan Sheikhoun city in the southern suburbs of Idlib governorate, on August 17th”.

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported that “two citizens were martyred due to Russian raids in Khan Sheikhoun city.”

No other information is known at this time.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Mohammad Ma’arati
Adult male killed
Abdul Latif Tallawi
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (2 men)
  • 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 attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (4) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Mohammad Ma’arati and Abdul Latif Tallawi were reported killed in alleged Russian airstrikes on Khan Sheikhoun, Idlib, on August 17th.

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
    2
  • (2 men)
  • 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 attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (4) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS1302

Incident date

September 22, 2016

Location

الميسر, Al Maysar, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.212011, 37.171227 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Street level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

An unspecified number of civilians were killed and wounded in alleged Russian or Assad regime airstrikes on Aleppo’s Al Maysar neighbourhood, according to local media.

Al Jazeera reported that seven civilians were killed in regime strikes “in the neighborhoods of Sukkari Mashhad Marjeh and Salhin.”

But LCCSY said that Russia also carried out strikes resulting in an unspecified number of dead and wounded.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • 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 (6) [ 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 not reported any strikes between September 1st – 30th 2016.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • 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 (6) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS1432

Incident date

October 11, 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

Two civilians were reported killed and “many” more wounded in alleged Russian airstrikes on Khan Al Assal near Aleppo.

Shahba wrote that “two were killed and many civilians wounded due to Russian warplanes shelling in Khan Al-Assal in the western countryside of Aleppo.”

The Syrian Network for Human Rights and Halab News also reported two victims.

Aleppo 24 and Dorar TV said that cluster bombs were used in the attack.

Smart News and Baladi did not report any civilian harm but said that Russia had carried out airstrikes.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–10
  • 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 (8) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Damage to civilian homes following alleged Russian shelling on Khan al Assal, Oct 11th (via DOrartv)

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 October 1st – 19th 2016.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–10
  • 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 (8) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS1464

Incident date

October 16, 2016

Location

قطنا, al Qatana, Rif Dimashq, Syria

Geolocation

33.441037, 36.0841 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One or two civilians died and several more were wounded in an airstrike on Aleppo’s Al Qatana neighbourhood, according to local media. Most sources blamed Russia, though some reports said that the regime also carried out strikes in Aleppo during this period, meaning that its involvement can’t be definitively ruled out. Moreover, a number of sources didn’t identify the warplanes responsible for the casualties.

LCCSY, Syrian Press Center, @insrepTeam, @ALAMAWI, Jisrv and the Step News Agency blamed Russia, and put the death count at either one or two civilians.

According to Foucsaleppo on October 17th, “Russian and Syrian planes have stepped up raids in the eastern regions of Aleppo during the last two days to reach most of the besieged neighborhoods of Marjah, Al-Haidariyah, Al Qatana, Al-Qatraji, Al Maysar, Bab Al-Nairab, Sheikh Fares, Dhahra Awad and Karam Al Tarab. This resulted in more than 65 martyrs. Some of the wounded were left in a serious condition, meaning that the number of martyrs is likely to increase”.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • 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 (17) [ 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 not reported any strikes between October 1st – 19th 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 – 2
  • 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 (17) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS1704

Incident date

November 27, 2016

Location

الزهراء , Al Zahra village, Aleppo, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.361481, 37.015815 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

According to the Shaam News Network, “several successive explosions rocked the pro-Assad town of Zahra, located in the northern countryside of Aleppo, and media sources said it was the result of aerial bombing of a warplane targeting the area by mistake, causing strong explosions and fires in several places of the town.”

@ali_alabras93 said that two civilians died and “dozens” more were wounded in four Russian raids on Zahra.

Umyyapress provided the most detail, reporting: “a warplane – believed to be Russian – targeted the northern towns of Nabel and Zahra loyal to the Assad regime in the northern countryside of Aleppo, Sunday, which led to the deaths of a number of dead and wounded, according to sources loyal to the Assad regime.

“There were conflicting reports about the source of air raids that hit areas in the two towns, sources said that Russian airliner targeted at nine thirty in the night with a number of air raids, while other sources said that the flight is unidentified.

“According to pro pages, the two towns were targeted with four air and cluster air strikes, resulting in civilian casualties. According to these pages, Zahra Hospital announced the need for blood units from all factions, calling for the need to donate blood.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights noted that “Al-Zahra town is home to thousands of pro-regime militants who were trained by field commanders in the Lebanese Hezbollah”. The Observatory also pointed to Russian strikes on the town – reporting that Russia had struck it “by mistake”.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–12
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (11) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • Translation: 'Two martyrs and a number of wounded by the fall of shells on residential neighborhoods in the town of Zahra in the countryside of Aleppo'

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Remains of munitions and a badly disfigured corpse following an alleged Russian strike on Zahra, Nov 27th.

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.”

Additionally, Russia reported that its air forces have carried out strikes in Aleppo during November and December 2016.

Syrian Regime Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–12
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (11) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS1614

Incident date

November 17, 2016

Location

بيت سوا, Beit Sawa, Eastern Ghouta, Damascus, Syria

Geolocation

33.537531, 36.399937 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Up to two civilians were killed in an airstrike on Beit Sawa, Eastern Ghouta, according to multiple sources.

It remains unclear who was responsible for the raid, with conflicting reports. Some claimed the regime were responsible, others that Russian warplanes struck the area, and some could not positively attribute responsibility.

One man killed was named locally as Hikmat al-Hamad. White Helmets Rif Dimashq stated in a tweet that he was Palestinian.

Sky News Arabia reported that the killing of one civilian and wounding of others was due to “raids by military aircraft of the government forces on the town of Beit Sawa”.

However, the source, LCCSY, reported that the man was “martyred due to the Russian airstrike on Beit Sawa in Eastern Ghouta”.

7al News are the only source that put the death toll at two, with a media activist source telling them that “two civilians were killed by the bombing on the town of Beit Sawa”.

Multiple sources claim that a “number” of civilians were injured in the incident, with @Syr_Rev_News stating that children and women were injured. However, no other known sources have any more information on the number of people wounded.

 

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Hikmat al-Hamad
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • (1 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 (13) [ 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 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
    1 – 2
  • (1 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 (13) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS1662

Incident date

November 22, 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

Two adult males were killed, and several others were wounded – including one woman – in an aerial bombardment on Binnish. According to Arabic.rt, the shelling struck two groups of armed men in the morning of the 22nd.

Sources were conflicted as to whether Russia or the Assad regime were responsible for the raids and civilian harm.

Edlib News reported that five rockets were launched on the town with Spm-syria, adding that much civilian property was destroyed. Photographic evidence of a woman being rescued in the aftermath supports this claim.

The incident occured around dawn.

The victims were named as:

Mostafa Gheath Obaied
Adult male killed
Basel Bashir Shoaeeb
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (2 men)
  • 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 (13) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • An injured woamn is rescued in the aftermath of alleged Russian airstrikes on Binnish, 22nd November 2016. (via @ShahbaPress)
  • One of the victims of an alleged Russian airstrikes on Binnish, 22nd November 2016. (via Binnish.local.counci)
  • One of the victims of an alleged Russian airstrikes on Binnish, 22nd November 2016. (via Binnish.local.counci)

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
    2
  • (2 men)
  • 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 (13) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS1806

Incident date

December 28, 2016

Location

زملكا, Zamalaka, Damascus, Syria

Geolocation

33.5261, 36.35385 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

As many as two civilians were killed – including an unidentified adult male – and more than 20 were injured in airstrikes on the residential neighbourhood of Zamalaka, according to local media.

Sources remain unclear as to who was to blame for the airstrikes. Some sources, including LCCSY, have reported Russian warplanes were to blame for the raids, whereas others pointed to the Syrian regime.

@AJA_Syria reported that the regime forces fired rockets on the residential vinicty. @ousamamedia specified there were four rocket attacks. 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Unidentified male
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 2
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–20
  • 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 (7) [ 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 not reported any specific strikes between December 1st – 31st 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
    1 – 2
  • (1 man)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–20
  • 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 (7) [ collapse]