Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

R4609

Incident date

October 21, 2023

Location

قرية القنيطرة, Al Qunitra, west of Idlib, Idlib, Syria

Airwars assessment

Shortly before 11 AM on Saturday, October 21st, 2023, a female child was injured in an airstrike reportedly perpetrated by the Russian military forces in the Al Qunitra village west of Idlib, Syria. According to Orient News, the Russian military used vacuum bombs during the strike.

The Syrian Civil Defense reported that a girl was slightly injured as a result of the strike. They also inspected the area and evacuated two families from the village to a safer place. On its Twitter/X account, SCD shared pictures showing the evacuation of civilians in minibusses where women carrying small children can be seen. The mountainous area where the incident happened was reportedly close to civilian homes and a village school.

SCD also posted an image showing a thick cloud of smoke rising after the explosion. Orient News tweeted a video showing the moment of the strike where the cloud of smoke also can be seen. Twitter/X user @heart_lion9 shared a video showing the explosion from another angle accompanied by screams of “Allahu Akbar” and “Ja Latif”.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to the Russian military.

The incident occured at approximately 11:00 am local time.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military

Sources (17) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (14) [ collapse]

  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: @SyriaCivilDefe
  • Source: Syrian Press Center
  • Source: Idlib olive tree
  • Source: Idlib olive tree
  • Source: Syrian Press Agency
  • Source: Dcrn_News
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Russian Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military

Sources (17) [ collapse]