Airwars assessment
At least two civilians – two girls – were killed and one to two other civilians, including a woman and a Civil Defense member, were injured in alleged Russian or regime strikes on the town of Belion on July 3, 2021.
According to @Sy24ria, the bombing of the town of Belion resulted in “the killing of two girls and the injury of their father”. The father mentioned is a Civil Defense worker and the two girls killed were his daughters. An image posted by Syrian Civil Defense shows one of the son’s, Muhammad, hugging his father after he escaped from under the rubble.
A tweet from @fromidlib identified the Civil Defense worker as Omar Al-Omar and added that his two daughters were killed and he and his wife were injured in their home. Ali Suliman named the daughters killed as Iman Omar Al-Omar, 14 years old, and her younger sister Nour Omar Al-Omar.
@mahmoodtalha22 reported that what occurred was a “double bombing of the regime forces targeting the Civil Defense and civilians while they were rescuing civilians in the town of Balion”. A video posted by @syriapostnew1 shows Civil Defense members rushing to the scene when another strike occurs that knocks them over.
Sources were conflicted as to who was responsible for the strikes, with Syrian Network for Human Rights attributing the casualties to regime artillery strikes while @syriapostnew1 blamed Russia.
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”.
Geolocation for this incident was completed by @obretix.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (4)
Summary
Sources (30) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (17) [ collapse]
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"Muhammad came out from under the rubble and ran towards his father, who he thought had died with his brothers, and hugged him while they were crying, and his two daughters, Iman and Noor, had passed away." (Image posted by @ala_hacioglu)
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Funeral for the victims of strikes on Belion on July 3, 2021. (Image posted by @Gurbtwatan)
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A Civil Defense worker cries at the funeral of his two daughters, who were killed in strikes on the town of Belioun on July 3, 2021. (Image posted by @Yypnp1rHaJZ1YRZ)
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Rubble of buildings caused by strikes on the town of Belioun on July 3, 2021. (Image posted by @Almohrar1)
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Rubble of buildings caused by strikes on the town of Belioun on July 3, 2021. (Image posted by @Almohrar1)
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According to a post from Ali Suliman via Facebook, "the child martyr Iman Omar Al-Omar, 14 years old, was killed by shelling of the Assad regime forces this morning, Saturday, in her town, and her younger sister, Nour Omar Al-Omar, rose with her."
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Image of Nour Al Omar, who was killed in strikes on Belioun on July 3, 2021. (Image posted by Hasan Al Saaed via Facebook)
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A Civil Defense worker cries at the funeral of his two daughters, who were killed in strikes on the town of Belioun on July 3, 2021. (Image posted by Syrian Civil Defense)
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A Civil Defense worker cries at the funeral of his two daughters, who were killed in strikes on the town of Belioun on July 3, 2021. (Image posted by Syrian Civil Defense)
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A Civil Defense worker cries at the funeral of his two daughters, who were killed in strikes on the town of Belioun on July 3, 2021. (Image posted by Syrian Civil Defense)
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A Civil Defense worker cries at the funeral of his two daughters, who were killed in strikes on the town of Belioun on July 3, 2021. (Image posted by Syrian Civil Defense)
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Image of the home of Omar Al Omar and his family, which was destroyed in strikes on Belioun on July 3, 2021 and resulted in the death of two of his daughters. (Image posted by @IdlibPlus)
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"The people of Balion village perform the funeral prayer for the martyrs near the wall of the Turkish point in the area. Photography: Ammar Khatib" (Image posted by @IdlibPlus)