Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Up to 16 civilians were killed and six others wounded following an airstrike in Heesh, Idlib, according to local media sources – though it is not clear who was responsible for the event. Whilst most sources attributed responsibility to Russian warplanes, some mentioned Assad’s regime and others didn’t positively identify a belligerent.
Smart News, who placed the death toll at 16, blamed Russia for the attack, reporting: “Sixteen civilians, including children and women, were killed and wounded Friday [April 7th] when a Russian air force bombed the town of Heesh, 55 km south of Idlib, north Syria”.
Idlib Media Centre, however, had a more conservative figure and placed the death toll at nine civilian casualties. It also attributed responsibility to Russian warplanes who had used vacuum missiles.
The only health centre that provides free care in the town was struck in the raid, according to a correspondent for RFS Media, who also attributed responsibility for the event to Assad’s regime.
Anatolia News Agency were quoted in many of our sources saying that many of those killed and injured in this attack were displaced from other towns in Idlib and Hama.
The Civil Defence reported that of the six wounded in the attack, there were two women and one child.
There was some confusion over the time of the attack. Of the sources that suggested a time of day, those who placed responsibility for the event with Russia reported that it happened at dawn, whilst those who said that it was Assad’s regime reported that it was a night-time attack. It was therefore not clear whether these were two separate incidents.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the town of Heesh (حيش), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.549065, 36.644537. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (32) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (16) [ collapse]
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The aftermath of a contested airstrike in Heesh, Idlib, 7 April 2017 (Via: Smo-sy)
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The aftermath of a contested airstrike in Heesh, Idlib, 7th April 2017. (Via: Shaam News)
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The aftermath of an airstrike in Heesh, Idlib. 7th April 2017 (Via: All4Syria)
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Up to 16 civilians were killed in a contested airstrike in Heesh, Idlib, 7th April 2017. (Via:All4Syria)
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The destruction in Heesh, Idlib following an airstrike on 7th April 2017 (Via: Maara-now)
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The destruction in Heesh, Idlib following an airstrike on 7th April 2017 (Via: Maara-now)
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The destruction in Heesh, Idlib following an airstrike on 7th April 2017 (Via: Maara-now)
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The destruction in Heesh, Idlib following an airstrike on 7th April 2017 (Via: Maara-now)
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The destruction in Heesh, Idlib following an airstrike on 7th April 2017 (Via: Maara-now)
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The rescue operations after a contested airstrike in Heesh, Idlib. 7th April 2017 (Via: SyrianPC)
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The damage from an airstrike in Heesh, Idlib. 7th April 2017. (Via: RFS)
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Russian Military Assessment:
Original strike reports
Russia has not reported any specific strikes between April 1st - 31st 2017.