Airwars assessment
On November 3rd 2022, two to three civilians, including two young men and a woman, were reportedly olive picking when they were injured by a land to ground missile, loaded with “internationally prohibited cluster bombs” as a result of alleged Syrian regime or Russian action. The attack happened on forests and farms on the Khirbet Al Natour road, west of Idlib, Syria.
Most sources attributed this strike to Russia, although the Syrian Civil Defense and Shaam News attributed it both to the Syrian regime and Russia and therefore this is reflected in the Airwars archive as a contested event.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that “Russian forces stationed in northern Hama countryside have fired two Russian-made Toshka missiles loaded with cluster bombs, targeting the perimeter of Idlib central prison and the western forests of Idlib province.” Syria TV reported that the same day in other local areas, “the observatories suggested that the long-range missiles were launched from a Russian warship in the Mediterranean off the coast of Tartus, while other observatories reported that the missiles were launched from Russian bases in the Hama and Latakia countryside.”
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Summary
Sources (19) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (10) [ collapse]
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"The report of the Monitoring Cluster Munitions Monitor (ICBL-CMC), of which the Syrian Civil Defense has become a member, confirmed that in 2021 Syria recorded the largest number of victims of cluster munition remnants recorded in any country in the world, as the number of cluster munition victims reached 37 victim." (@Syriacivildefe / Twitter)
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"The Unexploded Ordnance Removal (UXO) teams in the White Helmets have managed, since the beginning of their work, to destroy about 24,000 munitions from the remnants of the bombing, including more than 21,000 cluster bombs. Our teams have documented the regime and Russia's use of 11 types of cluster bombs." (@SyriaCivilDefe / Twitter)
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"The Unexploded Ordnance Removal (UXO) teams in the White Helmets have managed, since the beginning of their work, to destroy about 24,000 munitions from the remnants of the bombing, including more than 21,000 cluster bombs. Our teams have documented the regime and Russia's use of 11 types of cluster bombs." (@SyriaCivilDefe / Twitter)
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"The bombing resulted in the injury of two young men who were working in the olive harvest.. #Photo from the farms of Khirbet Al-Natour, west of #Idlib, after being targeted by the regime forces and Russia with two ground-to-ground missiles loaded with cluster bombs" (Image via @AJA_Syria / Twitter)