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

RS2067

Incident date

April 3, 2017

Location

حي جوبر, Jobar neighbourhood, Damascus, Damascus, Syria

Geolocation

33.528874, 36.337967 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Local media reported an unspecified number of dead and wounded civilians in heavy strikes by alleged Russian and Assad regime warplanes on Damascus’s Jobar neighbourhood. Reports said that there had been as many as 40 airstrikes within just a few hours

Aljazeera: “Russian and Syrian planes have carried out dozens of raids on the Jubar district and other areas east of Damascus, including the eastern Ghouta, causing deaths and injuries”.

According to Sharf, “The Joubar neighborhood was subjected to a fierce and barbaric campaign by the Russian and Asiad enemy planes, which carried out more than 40 air strikes in a few hours, accompanied by a very heavy artillery and missile attack. This led to the deaths of a number of martyrs 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 (13) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Russia warplanes over Damascus' Jobar neighbourhood, April 3rd 2017 (via Jobar Media Centre)

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

  • 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 (13) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS2058

Incident date

April 3, 2017

Location

حلفايا, Halfaya, Hama, Syria

Geolocation

35.261787, 36.606151 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A young man was killed, and several more were wounded, following an air or artillery strike on Halfaya. Sources were conflicted as to who whether this was the work of Russia or the regime, though most reports pointed to the regime.

Most sources blamed Syrian regime rocket launches and barrel bombs.

There were no specific reports indicating the number of wounded civilians – though reports noted that people were injured.

According to multiple sources, including Al Jazeera, the raids were to counter a “a large ground offensive on the armed opposition sites in the area”.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Mohammed al-Awad
Age unknown male killed

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 (8) [ 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 April 1st - 31st 2017.

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 (8) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS2066

Incident date

April 3, 2017

Location

حرستا, Harasta, Damascus, Syria

Geolocation

33.55869, 36.36515 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Local media reported the death of one civilian and injury of several more in an alleged Russia or Assad regime airstrike on Harasta.

The Smart News Agency reported: “The civil defense said that a civilian was killed and another wounded by two aircraft strikes on the area linking the town of Madara and the city of Harasta (5 km northeast of Damascus). Activists suggested that the warplanes belonging to the regime forces bombed the city of Harasta with space rockets.”

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an “aerial bombardment targeted Harasta and killed a man and wounded others.”

 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

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

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Translation: 'Evacuation of the injured as a result of the aerial bombardment of the area between the town of Manara and the city of Harasta 03-04-2017'

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

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

Incident Code

RS2061

Incident date

April 3, 2017

Location

الهبيط, al Habeet, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.4379459, 36.5379524 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Three civilians – a mother and her two children – died and up to 20 more were wounded in an alleged Russia or Assad regime airstrike on al Habeet, according to sources on the ground.

According to the Step News Agency, “Russian warplanes targeted the town of Habeet in the southern countryside of Idlib with twenty-three air-to-surface missile and concussion strikes on Monday evening April 3, causing the deaths of two children and their mother”.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights reported: “The children Ahmad and Mariam Abdulla al Abood were killed when suspected Russian warplanes fired missiles on the southern neighborhood in al Habeit village in Idlib governorate southern suburbs on April 3, 2017.”

However, Syria News Desk pointed to the Assad regime, citing a large number of injured civilians, a fifth of them children. According to this source, “in the southern Idlib countryside, 20 civilians were injured, including five children, yesterday night [April 3rd], as a result regime helicopters dropping two barrels containing chlorine poison gas on the opposition town of Habeet”.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (3)

Ahmad Abdulla al Abood
Child male killed
Mariam Abdulla al Abood
Child killed
Mother of the two Abdulla al Abood children
Adult female killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • (2 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    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 (5) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • The aftermath of an airstrike on Khan Sheikhan or Habayt or and Tel Asas west. The source didn't clarify the location shown in the image (via White Helmets)
  • The aftermath of an airstrike on Khan Sheikhan or Habayt or and Tel Asas west. The source didn't clarify the location shown in the image (via White Helmets)

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

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • (2 children1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    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 (5) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS2069

Incident date

April 3, 2017

Location

سراقب, Saraqeb, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.859101, 35.797731 Note: The accuracy of this location is to City level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Up to five civilians were killed – including an entire family of four people – and as many as seven other civilians were injured – including three children – in an airstrike which struck the residential neighbourhood of Saraqeb, according to local media. Sources all blamed Russian warplanes for the raid, though some, such as Smart News, didn’t identify the warplanes.

Most sources, including Syria Civil Defence and other local tweeters, reported that a mother and her three children were killed in the raid. They were named by ENN.

However, EdlibNN tweeted that two women and two children were killed. Additionally, Shamna put the death toll at five. 

Many of the wounded had serious injures, according to reportage, and a medical source from Serakib said “the number of people killed in the next few hours is increasing due to the seriousness of some of the wounded”. 

Media activist Leith al-Assi from Rural Idlib told the “News of Syria”, that the civil defence teams recovered three children who are still alive from the rubble.” The injured were taken to field hospitals by ambulance in and around the city. 

Halab Today TV specified that vacuum missiles were used to struck the vicinity. 

The incident occured at 21:22:00 local time.

The victims were named as:

Family members (4)

Fida Ramadan
Adult female killed
Shahed Hassan Talawi
Child killed
Enas Hassan Tallawy
Child killed
Sham Hassan Tallawy
Child killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4 – 5
  • (2–3 children1–2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3–7
  • 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 (15) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (6) [ collapse]

  • Just moments after the alleged Russian airstrike hit Saraqeb. Injured civilians can be seen being taken to hospital in an ambulance. 3rd April 2017. (via Idlib Media Centre)
  • Members of the Civil Defence rescue civilians from the rubble in the aftermath of an alleged Russian raid on Saraqeb, 3rd April 2017. (via Syrian Civil Defence)
  • Members of the Civil Defence rescue civilians from the rubble in the aftermath of an alleged Russian raid on Saraqeb, 3rd April 2017. (via Syrian Civil Defence)

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    An injured child in the aftermath of an alleged Russian raid on Saraqeb, 3rd April 2017. (via Syrian Civil Defence)
  • An injured child is pulled from the rubble and taken to a medical facility in the aftermath of an alleged Russian raid on Saraqeb, 3rd April 2017. (via Idlib Media Centre)
  • Sham Hasan Tellawi, killed alongside her mother and two siblings in an alleged Russian raid which targeted Saraqeb, 3rd April 2017. (via SN4HR)

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military
Official source

Russia has not reported any specific strikes between April 1st - 31st 2017.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4 – 5
  • (2–3 children1–2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3–7
  • 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 (15) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS2057

Incident date

April 2, 2017

Location

ريف حلب الغربي, Various location in western Aleppo countryside, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.200000, 37.600000 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Province/governorate level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Six civilians were killed, including four children and two women, and as many as eight others were wounded following an alleged Russian raid on various villages in the Western part of Aleppo’s countryside, local media reported. All sources either attributed blame to Russia, or “unknown warplanes”.

According to sources Kafrnah, Khan al-Asal, Babsaka, Sarmada, the town of Dara ‘Azza and Urum al-Kubra were all struck in the raid. Al Jazeera added that the towns were overcrowded with displaced peoples.

Baladi News said that there was significant damage to property in the vicinity.

A local source, Motaz Khatab, tweeted that rocket-propelled grenade launchers struck the countryside. 

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Nawal Abdel Hasib
Age unknown female daughter of Bashar Saleh al Bashir killed
Yahiya
Child killed
Ahmed
Child male killed
Abdul Hai Abu A’bbai
Child male killed
Hasnaa Abu A’bbai
Child female killed

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6
  • (4 children1–2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–8
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (10) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • News bulletin reporting on the airstrikes in various villages in the Western Aleppo countryside, 2nd April 2017. (via Halab Today TV)

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 April 1st - 31st 2017.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    6
  • (4 children1–2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2–8
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (10) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS2056

Incident date

April 2, 2017

Location

وطبة, Watba, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.810879, 36.406717 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Some civilians were wounded in an alleged Russian raid which struck Watba, Idlib, according to sources on the ground. There were no reports of civilian fatalities.

Both reports blamed Russian warplanes for the strike.

There are no other details at this time.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Civilians reported injured
    1–2
  • 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 (2) [ 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 April 1st - 31st 2017.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Civilians reported injured
    1–2
  • 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 (2) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RS2053

Incident date

April 2, 2017

Location

أم توينة, Umm Tuina, Hama, Syria

Geolocation

35.162968, 37.052679 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A single source reported the bombing of a civilian house in the village of Umm Tuina, according to local media. The source reported it was “likely to be Russian warplanes”. 

Umm Tuina is 32 km east of the city of Hama in central Syria and was under IS control at the time of the incident.

According to the source, a woman and her child were killed and three other civilians were wounded.

There are no other details at this time.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (1 child1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Russian Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Russian Military

Unknown.

Summary

  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (1 child1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected attacker
    Russian Military

Sources (1) [ collapse]