Incident Code

RS3080

Location

حرستا, Harasta, Damascus, Syria

Geolocation

33.55869, 36.36515
Accuracy: Town

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: R2885)

At least two but as many as 35 civilians were killed and several wounded as Harasta, eastern Ghouta, Damascus, was subject to aerial – and possibly also artillery – shelling, local media reported, though apportion of blame was unclear.

As the shelling of eastern Ghouta continued on its seventh day, Harasta was again on February 24th subject to airstrikes, especially in residential areas, as noted by several media, including the Civil Defence.

al-Jazeera added that Harasta, in addition to airstrikes, also had been struck with land-to-land missiles.

The death toll spanned among the sources from two to three, the latter reported by both the Syrian Network for Human Rights and Step News Agency.

However, al-Arabiya reported as the only source that the incident killed as many as 35 civilians. The media, who cited  The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported  “the renewal of air and missile strikes on Saturday morning, the implementation of military aircraft (carried out, ed.) four raids on areas in the city of Harasta, killing 35 people, including 8 children, and dozens of wounded.”

No other sources echoed that reporting, and though al-Arabiya’s figures will be registred below, it is done so with a great degree of uncertainty.

Moreover, reports mentioned that a number of civilians were left wounded, while al-Arabiya put the toll at “dozens”.

Sources were not clear in terms of culpability, as blame was appointed to either the Syrian regime, Russia, or both across the reports.

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Strike Type
Airstrike and/or Artillery
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
2–25
0–8 Children
Civilians reported injured
2–24

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Harasta (حرستا), for which the generic coordinates are: 33.55869, 36.36515. 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
Russia has not reported any strikes between February 1st - 28th 2018.
Syrian Regime Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Syrian Regime
Syrian Regime position on incident
Not yet assessed

Media From Sources (1)