Airwars assessment
During the evening of Saturday, December 30, 2023, artillery shelling allegedly carried out by the Syrian regime and/or Russian and/or Iranian military, hit the market in the center of the city of Idlib, Syria, killing at least three civilians, including one child, and injuring up to 25 others, including four children.
The site of the attack was the main market in the city center, according to the Syrian Civil Defence, and a lively area, according to Jamil al-Hasan who posted a video on Facebook reporting live during the aftermath of the attack. Some of the shelling landed near the “planet earth roundabout” according to a Facebook post by Coordinators of the Syrian Revolution in Idlib, and the “clock roundabout” according to Jamil al-Hasan on Facebook. The two roundabouts are about 240 meters away from each other in the city center.
The Syrian Civil Defence reported that three civilians were killed, including a man and a child, and that 15 others were wounded, some with serious injuries. Three sources including Twitter/X user @GhassanAlhamwi1 and Jamil al-Hasan on Facebook reported that there were four civilian deaths.
Twitter/X user @Jamil_Alhasaan reported 20 injuries and “This is My Volunteer Life” on Facebook reported that there were 25 injured people. All sources said at least four children were injured.
Twitter/X user @ivarmm shared on the day of the attack a preliminary list of names of 15 civilians injured and one killed as a result of the shelling.
16-year-old Zaid Mahmoud Maatouk was one of the people killed. He was a student, and one of his teachers described him as a “kind young man” as reported by @Qasemqt on Twitter/X, who also shared a picture of one of Maatouk’s exam papers, where he had written an essay mentioning that he was not afraid of death, and had expressed thoughts about defending “the beloved homeland” from “occupiers.”
The civilians injured from the same list included three boys/men with the same family name: Jihad Mohamad Othman, 30 (who was injured in the elbow); Hashem Ahmad Othman, 12 (who was injured in the head by shrapnel); Mohamad Ahmad Othman, 14 (who was injured in the abdomen by shrapnel).
The list also included Mustafa Khalaf, 24 (who was injured in the ear by shrapnel); Salah Moutaweh, 20 (who was injured in the hand); Abdel Kader Jamil Kaddour, 20 (injured in the abdomen by shrapnel); Bilal Masri, 40 (who was injured in his back); Abdel Razzaq Sharkhafi, 25 (who was injured in the head by shrapnel); Mustafa al-Tawil, 14 (who was injured in the foot); Saer Saghir, 23 (who was injured in the abdomen); Mahmoud Khattab 35, (who was injured in the chest and abdomen); Shamel Shaar 19, (who was injured in the shoulder), Mustafa Soboh Khalaf 21, (who was injured by shrapnel); and Badr Ghazal, 23, (who was injured by shrapnel). A civilian aged 43 whose name was not written clearly was injured in the chest.
Photos shared by the Syrian Civil Defence on Twitter/X showed injured men and boys in hospital lying on beds and being treated by medical staff.
A number of graphic videos shared by the user NASEEM on Facebook showed a boy in light trousers and white sneakers injured in his leg lying on the ground and then being carried away by somebody, a man injured in his stomach and wounded civilians being treated in a hospital, some of them crying in pain.
The Syrian Civil Defence shared a video on Twitter/X of the scene of the attack from when they first arrived to respond, showing one person in a body bag being carried into the Syrian Civil Defence ambulance.
Another video shared by Syrian Civil Defence on Twitter/X showed the street where the attack had occurred, with several shops destroyed. The person taking the video described the scene saying civilians were in “a state of terror and panic” and that the attack had occurred on one of Idlib’s “busiest streets,” which is the main market. The same video also showed a small crater by a sidewalk right next to a pickup truck (it is not clear if it was parked there before or after the attack), likely a result of the attack.
Jamil al-Hasan in a video shared on Facebook of him at the site of the attack, said there was “blood everywhere.” A video shared by Syrian Civil Defence on Twitter/X showed the city of Idlib in the dark with sirens blaring in the background. User @ivarmm on Twitter/X showed the state of chaos on the street of the attack, with people carrying an injured man.
The multiple strikes came from artillery fire according to the Syrian Civil Defence and Twitter/X user @walid_AL_idlibi described it only as a “missile” attack.
Multiple sources, including the Syrian Civil Defence, attributed the strike to the Syrian regime. Twitter/X user @tAAprK80Nn3GKmd said it was carried out by the Syrian regime and its “Russian and Iranian allies.” Twitter/X user @walid_AL_idlibi claimed the attack was carried out by Russian and Iranian militaries, and did not mention the Syrian regime.
The incident occured in the afternoon.
The victims were named as:
Family members (3)
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (25) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (27) [ collapse]
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Source: @SyriaCivilDefe -
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Source: @SyriaCivilDefe -
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Source: @SyriaCivilDefe -
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Source: @tAAprK80Nn3GKmd
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Source: @ivarmm
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Source: @ivarmm
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Source: @ivarmm
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Source: @Qasemqt
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Source: @Qasemqt
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Source: This is my volunteer life group -
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