Incident Code

R4336

Location

الشيخ يوسف, Al Sheikh Yousuf, Idlib, Syria

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

At least five civilians, members of the Syrian Civil Defense, were injured in alleged Russian airstrikes on the village of Sheikh Youssef on July 3, 2021.

Anadolu Agency reported that “the media official in the Civil Defense, Firas Khalifa, confirmed that Russian warplanes carried out 4 raids on their center in the village of Sheikh Youssef. He explained to Anadolu Agency that the raids resulted in the injury of 5 civil defense personnel, and the center was taken out of service.”

@HalabTodayTV described the injuries of the volunteers as “lightly bruised” while Syrian Observatory for Human Rights provided that at the time, no casualties were reported.

@mohmad_rasheed reported that the “rescue and firefighting vehicles”at the center sustained damage. Additionally, @MasarPressNet tweeted that the strikes caused the “North Roj water station to be out of service” and Syrian Observatory for Human Rights identified that the station “contained ten pumps which nearly 3,500 hectares of farmlands depended on for irrigation”.

Geolocation for this incident was competed by @obretix.

All of the sources that reported on the incident attributed the strikes to Russia. Al Jazeera reported that “Russian warplanes took off this morning from the Hmeimim Air Base in Latakia Governorate (west)”.

Jisr TV reported that “vacuum missiles” were used by Russian bombers and the Syrian Civil Defense (SCD) identified that the strikes were carried out with “high-precision laser-guided artillery shells of the type (Krasnopol)”.

SCD added that “their adjacent building is in an isolated and clear place, and its targeting could not have been accidental or random.” Syrian Network for Human Rights also confirmed that “the SCD center is far from any residential area and free of any military equipment or presence and that it uses a building of al Rouj Water station as its headquarter.”

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Strike Type
Airstrike
Strike Status
Likely strike
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Civilians reported injured
5

Military Statements

Russian Military Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Russian Military
Russian Military position on incident
Not yet assessed

Media From Sources (30)