Incident Code

RS334

Location

تدمر, Palmyra, Homs, Syria

Geolocation

34.5655244, 38.2873535
Accuracy: City

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: R282)

One adult male, named by the Violations Documentation Center as media activist Yousef Abo Bilal, (aka Abu al-Homsi Joshua) was killed in an alleged Russian airstrike.

While the VDC lists Hamidiya neighbourhood in Homs, Yousef Abo Bilal actually died in Palmyra. His non-combatant status is also questioned.

As Enabbaladi notes: “Activists from the city of Homs mourned media activist Abu Bilal al-Homsi, who died in an air raid on the city of Palmyra in Homs on Wednesday 30th December. He wrote as activist Abu al-Homsi Joshua through his personal Facebook page… Abu Bilal had announced [in 2014] his pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State.

 

Victims

Invidivuals

Adult male killed

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
0–1
1 Man

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Palmyra (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
Russia does not appear to have published a strike summary for December 30th-31st 2015.
Syrian Regime Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Syrian Regime
Syrian Regime position on incident
Not yet assessed

Media From Sources (2)