Geolocation
Airwars assessment
In what has been described by local media as a “massacre”, 23 civilians were reported killed and as many as 80 more were wounded in airstrikes on the residential neighbourhood of Masraba. Local media was conflicted as to who was to blame. Most sources attributed the civilian harm to Russia, however a number of sources blamed the Syrian-Russian alliance or the Syrian regime.
Many sources said that Masraba was surrounded by Syrian regime elements at the time of the bombing.
Footage shows the extent of the destruction on civilian homes, with many civilians buried or trapped under the rubble.
Syrian Press Centre reported that cluster bombs were used in the raid. Step News however, said that “rocket-propelled grenades” were used in the bombing.
Alraafed News put the death toll at 11, however most other sources reported highs of 23. The Violations Documentation Centre, amongst ,named 20 fatalties. They added that they were mostly women and children.
Alwatan voice reported that ” three children and 11 women” were included in the death toll.
A member of the Syrian Civil Defence was also killed in the raid. Footage shows his body being recovered from the rubble in the aftermath.
Alraafed News added that “dozens” were injured due to the two Russian warplanes which “targeted residential buildings”.
According to Alwatan voice, “medical staff tried within half an hour to revive a baby who had been pulled out of the rubble, but he died. A doctor in a nearby room was treating the wounds of a young girl who was seriously wounded in the face. A medical source at the hospital said that among the wounded were two women in their twenties. One of them lost both eyes while the other lost one eye. They were transferred to the operations department. He explained that medical personnel were called from their homes due to the large number of injuries.”
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (29) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (13) [ collapse]
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The aftermath of airstrikes which struck Masraba, 3rd January 2018. (via Step News Agency)
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Basem al Fadli, a member of the Civil Defence who was killed in airstrikes which struck Masraba, 3rd January 2018. (via Syrian Network for Human Rights)
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A civilian casualty in the aftermath of airstrikes which struck Masraba, 3rd January 2018. (via Msraba coordinating) -
A wounded civilian in the aftermath of airstrikes which struck Masraba, 3rd January 2018. (via Msraba coordinating)
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A wounded civilian in the aftermath of airstrikes which struck Masraba, 3rd January 2018. (via Msraba coordinating)
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This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
A civilian casualty in the aftermath of airstrikes which struck Masraba, 3rd January 2018. (via Msraba coordinating) -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
A civilian casualty in the aftermath of airstrikes which struck Masraba, 3rd January 2018. (via Msraba coordinating) -
The aftermath of airstrikes which struck Masraba, 3rd January 2018. (via Mc doualiya News)
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A victim is pulled from the rubble in the aftermath of airstrikes which struck Masraba, 3rd January 2018. (via Syrian Network for Human Rights)
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Basem al Fadli, a member of the Civil Defence who was killed in airstrikes which struck Masraba, 3rd January 2018. (via Syria civil defence)
Russian Military Assessment:
Original strike reports
In an article published on January 30th 2018 Russia reported: ”crews of the Aerospace Forces of Russia had successfully performed 34,561 sorties. The Minister of Defence pointed out that the Tu-22M3 long-range bombers, as well as the Su-24M, Su-34 and Su-35S short-range aircraft had proved to be efficient. The Tu-160 and Tu-95MS strategic bombers delivered 66 strikes by cruise missiles, and each eliminated the assigned target. The Minister of Defence also stated that Russian UAVs provided complete control over the whole Syrian territory. The head of the military department paid attention to the significant contribution to the achievement of the operation made by the Navy. The naval surface forces carried out 171 combat missions. The ships and submarines carried out 100 high-precision attacks with the Kalibr cruise missiles. For the first time, the aircraft carrier "Admiral of the Soviet Union Fleet Kuznetsov" participated in combat operations. Due to high professional skills of deck aircraft, 1,252 terrorist objects were eliminated.”