Incident Code

R4392

Location

الكفير, Al Kafir, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.781561, 36.321330
Accuracy: Village

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

A least one civilian, a child, was killed and up to five others, including a woman, were injured in alleged regime or Russian strikes on the town of Al Kafir on September 19, 2021.

Firas Al-Khalifa, the media official of the Syrian Civil Defense in Idlib, told Al-Araby News that a 15-year-old boy was killed, and a woman was injured as a result of the Syrian regime’s artillery shelling on the town of Kafir.

Syrian Network for Human Rights published the name of the child killed: Abdul Hadi Salman.

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also identified a child as being killed in the strikes but put the number of civilians injured at five. Various other sources reported that “others” were wounded or “a number” of wounded resulted from the strikes but did not identify how many.

The Syria TV correspondent said that the Syrian Civil Defense teams (White Helmets) transported the body of the child and treated the victim to the hospital for treatment, and also secured the targeted area.

The majority of sources attributed the shelling to the Syrian regime, with Nedaa Post identifying 7 rocket launchers belonging to regime forces stationed near the town of Gorin as being the source of the shelling. However, Syrian Civil Defense and @IdlibPlus referred to both Russia and the regime as being responsible and Resala Post blamed Russia.

Victims

Invidivuals

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Strike Type
Artillery
Strike Status
Contested strike
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Contested
Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Civilians reported killed
1
1 Child
Civilians reported injured
1–5
1 Woman

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Kafir (الكفير), for which  the generic coordinates are: 35.781561, 36.321330. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Military Statements

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

Media From Sources (11)