Incident Code

RS443

Location

سرمدا, Sarmada, Idlib, Syria

Geolocation

36.18553, 36.72231
Accuracy: Town

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: R377)

Up to eight civilians including one child were killed and 12 others injured in an alleged Russian airstrike on Sarmada, according to local sources.

The Syrian Observatory for Human rights said that eight people (including a child and three people from the Palmyra area, a commander of a checkpoint belonging to a rebel faction and other fighters) were killed in raids by “warplanes believed to be Russian” on areas in the outskirts of the town of Sarmada near the Syrian-Turkish border and “the area of a checkpoint for the Islamic factions near Bab al-Hawa border crossing.

Reporting on the aerial bombardment on both Bab al Hawa and Sarmada, the Observatory added that the number killed had risen to 28, including four children and a woman, in addition  to “an Uzbek family and 22 rebels“.

The Shaam News Network published a graphic video showing the aftermath of strikes. The voice over in the footage says they were carried out by the regime, though the title of the video says they were Russian raids.

Another graphic video, by the White Helmets, showed members of their team being targeted by strikes by “warplanes” – though they did not identify them.

At 1:06 in footage published by Orient News, a civil defence volunteer says: “only two minutes after the raids hit the civilian areas of Sarmada, our vehicles were hit when we arrived at the scene. We now have around 10 dead.”

Arabi21 said that four Russian strikes killed a family of seven and injured 12 others.

 

 

Victims

Invidivuals

Adult male killed
Adult male killed
Adult male listed under Maddiq Castle where he comes from but it says he was killed in Sarmada. killed
Haj Mahmoud Mohammed Sheik
Adult male named by Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies killed
Unidentified
Age unknown named by Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies killed
Unidentified
Age unknown named by Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies killed
Unidentified
Age unknown named by Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies killed
Unidentified
Age unknown named by Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies killed

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Civilians reported killed
4–8
1 Child, 4 Men
Civilians reported injured
12

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Sarmada (سرمدا), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.18553, 36.72231. 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
In its military report published on 25th January, the Kremlin said: “In the course of the last three days, January 22-24, aircraft of the Russian aviation group in the Syrian Arab Republic performed 169 combat sorties engaging 484 objects of terrorists’ infrastructure…crews of Tu-22M3 long-range bombers performed 18 combat sorties from the territory of the Russian Federation in order to engage manpower and hardware of the ISIS near Deir ez-Zor on January 22-24. Flight range reached more than 2,000 kilometers.“

Media From Sources (3)