Airwars assessment
Two children and a woman were killed by alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on the town of Ariha, Idlib governorate, on May 15th 2018, according to local sources. An unknown number of civilians was wounded.
The Syrian Civil Defence reported that the children Bara’ah Haj Ali (aged 6) and Rayan Haj Ali (aged 12) were killed in alleged Syrian regime airstrikes on residential neighbourhoods in Ariha. The Syrian Network for Human Rights reported that the two girls were siblings.
The Local Coordination Committees of Syria wrote that a woman had also died in the airstrikes, also blaming the Syrian regime.
According to Ariha Today however, Russian warplanes targeted the town at exactly 10:16 AM, destroying a residential house completely. Hashtag Revolution stated that the alleged Russian airstrikes occurred in the eastern part of the town.
Idlib Media Center and Orient News reported that an unknown number of civilians had been injured. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights added that some of the injured remained in a critical condition.
Sources mentioned the use of rockets and missiles.
Photos of the incident showed Syrian Civil Defence volunteers searching the rubble to rescue the wounded and recover the bodies of those killed.
The incident occured at approximately 10:16 am local time.
The victims were named as:
Family members (2)
- Bara’a Haj Ali 6 years old female killed
- Rayan Haj Ali 12 years old female killed