Conflict

Russian Military in Syria

Incident Code

RS4261

Location

بابيلا, Babila, Idlib, Syria

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: October 15, 2025

(Previous Incident Codes: R4008RS4255)

At least one civilian was reportedly killed and others were wounded in an alleged regime or Russian artillery/airstrike on the village of Babila, Idlib governorate, in the early morning of December 17th, 2019.

The Syrian Human Rights Committee identified a victim killed as Othman Al-Diab. Edlib Media Centre claimed as the only source that the attack “resulted in the martyrdom of civilian IDP families” without specifying the number of civilian deaths. @NagiNajjar reported that beyond the deaths, “several others were wounded”.

The sources made conflicting reports on whether the Russian Armed Forces or the Syrian regime conducted the attack.

While most sources reported that warplanes conducted airstrikes on the outskirts of the city, a number of others, such as Jisr TV, claimed that Syrian regime’s fighters shelled the town with heavy machine guns. Others claim that the belligerents attacked with heavy machine guns from airplanes.

Victims

Individuals

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Strike Type
Airstrike and/or Artillery
Strike Status
Contested strike
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Contested
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Civilians reported killed
1–2
Civilians reported injured
2

Military Statements

Russian Military Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Russian Military
Russian Military position on incident
Not yet assessed
Syrian Regime Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Syrian Regime
Syrian Regime position on incident
Not yet assessed

Media From Sources (1)