Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

R4333

Incident date

July 3, 2021

Location

ابلين, Iblin, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

At least five civilians, including a woman and three to four children, were killed and three to four other civilians, including a woman and two children, were injured in alleged Russian or regime strikes on Iblin the morning of July 3, 2021.

The Syrian Civil Defense reported that “the regime forces and Russia committed a massacre in the village of Iblin, killing 5 civilians (a man, his wife and three of their children) and wounding a woman and two children, all of them from the same family”. Various other sources also reported that five civilians were killed, with Enab Baladi identifying “that a man and his four children were killed”.

Step News Agency indicated that four civilians were “seriously” wounded in the strikes and identified laser-guided missiles as being used.

The names of those killed were provided by @AbuWael_Daraya: Sobhi Abdel Hamid Al-Asi (M husband), Souad Sobhi Al-Asi (W the wife), Ibrahim Sobhi Al-Asi (M child), Saad Sobhi Al-Asi (M child), Banan Sobhi Al-Asi (M child).

Etlif News reported that the same family lost “11 of its relatives as a result of similar bombing” a few days ago, “which indicates that the area was deliberately targeted”. Violet Syria also added that “five members of his family were martyred as a result of the regime’s bombing of a family’s mourning gathering in their village of Iblin on the tenth of June 2021”.

According to @thawrat111, “Sobhi Al-Assi is a volunteer in the medical team “Violet Organization” and a tweet from @org_violet commemorates his life. @SCDKutini gave specific information on his role, “[working] at the community treatment center to address the COVID-19 pandemic in the city of Jericho and at the Abilene Primary Health Care Center.” Violet Syria also posted on their website that “he is a fourth-year student at the Faculty of Sharia and Law at Idlib University, and he participated yesterday, Friday, in the human chain on Bab Al-Hawa Road within Advocacy, calling for his stance to save the lives of civilians in northwest Syria and not to cut off their lifeline.”

A tweet from @ibrahim78197182 added that the family was asleep when the strikes occurred and were killed in their sleep while @org_violet reported that Sobhi was killed “while he was on his way to work”.

@HalabTodayTV identified that “residential areas” within the town were shelled by artillery.  A video posted by @Jamil_Alhasaan shows the extensive damage to the house caused by the strikes and the backyard of the house that the children that were killed used to play in. The director of the Unified Observatory, Ammar Abu al-Hassan, told Enab Baladi News that none of these areas bombarded had a military presence.

The majority of sources attributed the strikes to Russia and Syrian Network for Human Rights provided an image of the shells that they identified as Russian that struck the home and injured members of the family. However, @HalabTodayTV blamed the regime for the strikes and referred to them as “artillery” strikes.

UNICEF condemned the attacks, including this one, that resulted in children being killed and called “for the protection of all children and strongly urge those fighting to refrain from further attacks”.

The incident occured in the morning.

The victims were named as:

Family members (5)

Adult male Husband of Souad Sobhi Al-Asi killed
Adult female Wife of Sobhi Abdel Hamid Al-Asi killed
Child male Child of Sobhi Abdel Hamid Al-Asi and Souad Sobhi Al-Asi killed
Child male Child of Sobhi Abdel Hamid Al-Asi and Souad Sobhi Al-Asi killed
Child male Child of Sobhi Abdel Hamid Al-Asi and Souad Sobhi Al-Asi killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    5
  • (3–4 children1 woman1 man1 healthcare_personnel)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3–4
  • 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 belligerents
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (35) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (24) [ collapse]

  • Image of the funeral held for a family that was killed in strikes on Iblin the morning of July 3, 2021. (Image posted by @mhmdfaisel)
  • White Helmets and other civilians sorting through the rubble caused by strikes on Iblin the morning of July 3, 2021. (Image posted by @AbuWael_Daraya)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Graphic image of Sobhi Al-Assi, a volunteer with the Violet Organization, was killed along with his wife and three children in strikes on Iblin the morning of July 3, 2021. (Image posted by @thawrat111)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Graphic image of one of the children killed in strikes on Iblin the morning of July 3, 2021. (Image posted by @Tb7FgaFJwxqQlKu)
  • Damage to a home caused by strikes on Iblin the morning of July 3, 2021. (Image posted by @ibrahim78197182)
  • Images of the civilians killed and injured in strikes on the the villages of Jabal Al-Zawiya on July 3, 2021. (Images posted by @abdalazezketaz)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Images of the civilians killed and injured in strikes on the the villages of Jabal Al-Zawiya on July 3, 2021. (Images posted by @abdalazezketaz)
  • Images of the civilians killed and injured in strikes on the the villages of Jabal Al-Zawiya on July 3, 2021. (Images posted by @abdalazezketaz)
  • "With great sadness and sorrow, #Violet_Organization mourns the martyrdom of Sobhi Abdel Hamid Al-Assi, his wife and children, as a result of the bombing that targeted his house in Jabal Al-Zawiya while he was on his way to work, this morning, Saturday 03.07.2021." (Image posted by @org_violet)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Image of one of the children injured in strikes on Iblin the morning of July 3, 2021. (Image posted by @fattumabdulfat1)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Very graphic image of one of the civilians killed in strikes on Iblin the morning of July 3, 2021. (Image posted by @firas_alkhalifa)
  • Image of Sobhi Al-Assi, a volunteer with the Violet Organization, was killed along with his wife and three children in strikes on Iblin the morning of July 3, 2021. (Image posted by @firas_alkhalifa)
  • Image of Sobhi Al-Assi, a volunteer with the Violet Organization, was killed along with his wife and three children in strikes on Iblin the morning of July 3, 2021. (Image posted by @firas_alkhalifa)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Very graphic image of Sobhi Al-Assi, a volunteer with the Violet Organization, was killed along with his wife and three children in strikes on Iblin the morning of July 3, 2021. (Image posted by @SCDKutini)
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Graphic images of the children injured in strikes on "the villages of #Abilene and #Billion in Jabal Al-Zawiya" posted by @voicenorth1
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Graphic images of the children injured in strikes on "the villages of #Abilene and #Billion in Jabal Al-Zawiya" posted by @voicenorth1
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

  • Image of the funeral held for a family that was killed in strikes on Iblin the morning of July 3, 2021. (Image posted by Syrian Network for Human Rights)
  • Remnants of a shell identified to be Russian that was part of the attack on Iblin on July 3, 2021. (Image posted by Syrian Network for Human Rights)

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

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    5
  • (3–4 children1 woman1 man1 healthcare_personnel)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3–4
  • 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 belligerents
    Russian Military, Syrian Regime

Sources (35) [ collapse]