From the evening of Friday, 6th October 2023, and into the morning of Saturday, October 7th, 2023, artillery strikes, with the use of “Smerch” missiles and cluster ammunition, allegedly perpetrated by Syrian regime forces and/or the Russian and/or Iranian military, hit residential neighborhoods and a medical facility in the town of Termanin, north of Idlib, Syria. At least seven civilians were killed, including including at least one child, and up to 30 civilians, including at least two women and five children, were injured as a result of this attack.
The Syrian Civil Defense Twitter/X account @SyriaCivilDefe later, on Ocober 7, 2023, reported that the death toll has risen – five civilians, including a child, were killed after a man died from the wounds he sustained, and 30 civilians were injured, including five children and two women.
A Facebook user Mohammed Sh wrote that the attack “killed 6 martyrs, including four children. Because of the bombing that hit the city a short while ago”, attaching a graphic image of the bodies of four small children wrapped in white cloth. A Facebook user Farid Al Mohammed wrote that they were brothers. Muhannad Al-Khaled also shared the same image and blamed Syrian regime forces, Russian and Iranian military for the killings. A Twitter/X user @inpic0 alleged that those children were killed by the Syrian regime forces as retaliation for the killing of his officers on October 5, 2023, at the Military College in Homs. Media-set’ Shafak and Idlib Facebook account also shared that image which apparently became viral on social media.
Social media tributes helped to identify some of the victims fof the bombardement. Abdul Qader Muslehlou (16 y.o.), Ayham Bastin (23 y.o.) and Mahmoud Arour (23 y.o.) were reportedly killed, according to the Twitter/X user @Gurbtwatan. The identities of the four small children who were also killed have not been found by Airwars, but it was reported they were brothers.
It was reported that Ahmed Arour (17 y.o.), Dergham Muslehlo (14 y.o.) and Ahmed Amouri (age unknown) were injured. Ahmed Amouri’s cousin wrote that Ahmed received a head injury and posted a graphic image of him with the bandaged head.
A Facebook user Abo Tarq shared pictures of injured children being treated in a hospital, but there is no additional information about them. A Twitter/X user @Omar_Madaniah shared an image of three injured children – a small boy and a girl along with an infant, – with a capture “Tired after a bloody night. Children were injured by shrapnel from the missiles of the criminal Bashar al-Assad a short while ago.”
Syrian News Agency (SANA) documented the effects of destruction on the town of Termanin after being the subject of the missile strikes through its monitoring lens, sharing the images where burnt cars and other destroyed vehicles could be seen. A Twitter/X user @mzmgr941 reported about the “intense bombardment by the external #Russian occupation and the regime, with a large number of reconnaissance aircrafts”, sharing a video where sounds of expolosions can be heard.
Syrian Civil Defense (SCD), also known as White Helmets, alleged that cluster munition was used during the bombardment. A video shared by the organization on Twitter/X captured the first moments of SCD teams’ response to the bombardment of missiles “loaded with internationally banned cluster munitions on residential neighborhoods and a medical facility” in the town of Termanin, which led to the wounding of 9 civilians, including a boy and a woman. The video shows how White Helmets carried a body on an injured person to an ambluance.
According to SCD, cluster munitions were used after midnight on Saturday, October 7, 2024. SCD shared an image of the remains of the 9M55K cluster bomb incubator, which carries high-explosive anti-personnel cluster bombs of the 9N210 and 9N235 types, alleging that two missiles of this type were used. The organization shared the images documenting the effects of destruction resulting from the bombardment with missiles carrying internationally banned cluster bombs. Also Al-Zeer Company on Facebook shared an image of the” remnants of the incubator of a Smerch cluster missile” when the attack struck the town of Termanin the evening. A part of the missile stuck in the pavement near parked cars can be seen.
Human Rights Watch also spoke on November 5th, about the use of cluster ammunitions in Termanin on October 6th, 2023. According to HRW, the attack killed two civilians and wounded nine others.
“Syrian government forces’ use of cluster munitions while bombing opposition-controlled areas demonstrates the tragic indiscrimination of these weapons and their devastating and chronic effects,” said Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “In the midst of this ongoing bombardment by Syrian and Russian forces, the children of Idlib are falling victim once again. A victim of cruel and illegal military actions.”
A post by Khalid Mahmoud on Facebook stated that the Russian regime and foreign occupation allegedly had claimed that they were targeting the Al-Julani Committee, which is classified as an international terrorist group, but instead they were bombing civilians, women and children. Khalid shared a graphic image of the dead person lying on the pavement with traces of blood around. Orient News communicated that hundreds of civilians were displaced from the town of Termanin as a result of the escalation of the attacks by Syrian regime forces and/or the Russian military.
The suspected attacker is alleged to be the Syrian regime forces and/or the Russian military and Iranian military, as reported by most of the sources, including @SyriaCivilDefe Twitter/X account, Orient News, and Syrian News Agency, although responsibility has not been accepted explicitly. Therefore, the Airwars graded both Strike Status and Civilian Harm Status as Contested.
The incident occured during the night.
