Airwars assessment
At least one person died in an alleged Russian or regime airstrike on Kafrouma in Idlib on December 24, 2019, according to local media. Local sources were conflicted as to whether the victims were civilians or militants.
Sources reported that the Russian strikes targeted members of the Ahrar al-Sham movement.
According to the Step News Agency, “Russian aircraft targeted four-wheel drive cars, carrying the movement’s leader, Jaber Ali Pasha, and the two ‘Legitimists’ of the movement known by the names of Sheikh Abu al-Ghareeb and Sheikh Abu Iqbal. Jaber Ali Pasha survived the Russian raid, while the raid resulted in the death of the Sharia, Abu Iqbal, and a number of accompanying elements, and the Shari’a, Abu al-Gharib, was wounded, with varying injuries”.
However, the White Helmets said that civilian deaths occurred in Kafrouma, while the Shaam News Network noted “one martyr”.
The majority of sources attributed the airstrikes to Russian warplanes.
The local time of the incident is unknown.