Incident Code

RS2849

Location

مالحة, Malha, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

35.700000, 36.700000
Accuracy: Province/governorate

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: R2657)

At least one civilian was killed and others were wounded in airstrikes which struck Malha, according to local media. Sources were conflicted as to who was to blame, most attributing blame to Russia, while one source blamed the Syrian regime.

However, the Step News Agency blamed both belligerents. They did not report on any civilian harm. Additionally, they were the only source to attribute blame to the Syrian regime.

Alhayat News and Smart News – who both blamed Russia – reported on one civilian death.

There are no other details at this time.

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Contested
Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
Civilians reported killed
1–2
Civilians reported injured
2

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the province/governorate of Malha (مالحة), for which the generic coordinates are: 35.700000, 36.700000. 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 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.”
Syrian Regime Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Syrian Regime
Syrian Regime position on incident
Not yet assessed