(Previous Incident Codes: R3751RS3969)

At least four men were killed in alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on the city of Ariha, Idlib governorate, on July 28th, 2019, according to local sources. 18 others were reported injured.

Although Ariha Today initially cited three civilians killed, the same source later named four fatalities, all of whom were men. Smart News Agency reported that “the Syrian regime forces killed five civilians, and wounded 18 others, in addition to causing fire and destruction in cars and shops.”

The Syria Civil Defence documented “four martyrs and 18 others wounded as a result of warplanes directly targeting the most populated area in the city of Ariha in the countryside Idlib this morning. For the third day in a row, the city is bombed.”

Multiple sources, including the Syrian Human Rights Committee, identified the victims as Absi Hassan Al Bou, Mahmoud Hasan Al Bou, Muhammad Muwaffaq Hamami and Haitham Abdul Qadir Qazmouz.

Horrya News wrote that “that four civilians were killed as a result of the MiG-23 warplane targeting residential neighbourhoods in the city with high-explosive missiles.”

Zaman Al Wasl reported that five civilians were killed in the event’s final death toll. El Dorar also put the death toll at five civilians, writing that regime forces targeted the Al Uruba School area and the public square inside the city. According to the correspondent, “the bombing caused the outbreak of several huge fires inside the city, as civil defence teams worked to extinguish them, cool the targeted place, and transport the injured to nearby field hospitals.”

@HadiAlabdallah posted a video of the event, stating that the main market of the city had been targeted.

@aboalhodaalhoms also posted a video on Twitter and captioned it: “Watch the first moments of the Russian warplanes bombing the city of Ariha and residential neighbourhoods, which led to the death of four martyrs and many wounded, and civil defence teams are still searching for people stranded under the rubble.”

Sources blamed both Russia and the Syrian regime for the strikes.