Incident Code
RS0452
Incident Date
23 January 2016
Location
تدمر, Bal el Hawa or Sarmada, Idlib, Syria
Geolocation
34.5655244,
38.2873535
Accuracy: City
Geolocation
34.5655244,
38.2873535
Accuracy: City
Airwars Assessment
Last Updated: July 23, 2025
(Previous Incident Codes: R389RS455)
Three to four civilians including two children and possibly one woman were killed in alleged Russian airstrikes on Bab el Hawa and Sarmada, according to two local sources.
Victims
Family members (3)
Adult
male
from Palmyra
killed
Child
male
from Palmyra
killed
Adult
male
from Palmyra
killed
Individuals
Child
female
as having died due to her wounds sustained in a Russian strike a “month ago“
killed
Key Information
Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Civilians reported killed
3–4
2 Children, 0–1 Women
Geolocation Notes
Reports of the incident mention the city of Bal el Hawa or Sarmada (تدمر), for which the generic coordinates are: 34.5655244, 38.2873535. 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
Russian Military Strike Report
In its military report published on 25th January, the Kremlin said: “In the course of the last three days, January 22-24, aircraft of the Russian aviation group in the Syrian Arab Republic performed 169 combat sorties engaging 484 objects of terrorists’ infrastructure…crews of Tu-22M3 long-range bombers performed 18 combat sorties from the territory of the Russian Federation in order to engage manpower and hardware of the ISIS near Deir ez-Zor on January 22-24. Flight range reached more than 2,000 kilometers.“