On Monday evening, 25 September 2023, between seven and 10 civilians, including two children and up to four women (one of whom was pregnant), were injured in missile strikes and artillery shelling allegedly by Syrian regime forces and/or Russian forces and/or Iranian forces on residential neighborhoods, the popular market and near the mosque in the city of Jisr al-Shughur in the western countryside of Idlib, northwest Syria.
Initial reportage from the Syrian Civil Defence (the White Helmets) stated that seven civilians were injured, including two children and two women, in “a missile strike by regime forces….this evening, Monday, September 25”, adding that their teams “treated a number of injured and inspected” the damaged areas. This version of events was corroborated by multiple local news media and social media including Syria News Agency and Shaam News, with the latter adding that the alleged bombing occurred “in light of the continued bombing operations today by the regime and its allies on the areas of rural Idlib and Aleppo”, and multiple sources claiming that heavy artillery shells were used. Sources on social media, Duraid Haj Hammoud and @alking14399969 shared the names of the seven injured – Tamim Muhammad Gharibawi (70), Saif Al-Din Muhammad (32), Wael Sheikh Mohammed (48), Ibrahim Ahmed Halabi (5), Bassam Mustafa Fustuk (17), Ruqaya Abdel Hamid Marzouk (20), and Hanaa Hassan Khalilo (50) – with Duraid stating that “all injuries were minor, thank God.” The White Helmets later updated the civilian casualty toll to 10 wounded, stating the toll from the artillery shelling “of regime forces….rose to 10 wounded, including two children and four women, one of whom is pregnant.” A video shared by the White Helmets with the caption “Bodies pierced by fragments of death shells, painted in blood and ash, a new story of Syrian oppression” showed a weeping child, possibly Ibrahim, in a bloodied yellow shirt with his wounded forehead being stitched up by medical workers, an elderly wounded man in a state of shock being assisted by emergency workers, and the rubble, damaged buildings and vehicles in the aftermath of the bombardment. Sources widely shared images of the wounded, the damage caused to infrastructure, and images of the smoke and debris from the bombardment rising near the golden domed mosque in Idlib.
Anadolu Agency quoted sources from within the White Helmets alleging that “Jisr al-Shughour was subjected to ground bombardment by the regime” forces and allegedly Iranian-backed groups stationed in Jurin, northwest of Hama Governorate, adding that the wounded were treated in hospitals nearby. The Jisr al-Shughour Media Center stated that there were several injuries, and “damage to a water transport vehicle” as a result of artillery shelling, and alleged that the source of the shelling were “regime forces stationed in the Jurin camp in the al-Ghab Plain.” A source on X/Twitter, @MohamadDaba9966, claimed that the bombardment was a response to alleged attacks on towns in the al-Ghab Plain, and was reportedly aimed at alleged Turkestan Islamic Party militants within Jisr al-Shughur. Another source, @hadikhraat, shared images of a fire damaged vehicle with water tanks, stating that there was a partial fire in the truck that was “designated for transporting water”, and that it was damaged “in conjunction with a reconnaissance aircraft flight” as a result of artillery bombardment.
Where sources identified a belligerent, most sources attributed the bombardment to Syrian Regime Forces, and as having originated from Jurin in the al-Ghab Plain. However, a few sources attributed the attack to Russian forces and Iranian forces.
The incident occured in the evening.
