(Previous Incident Code: R4536)

On August 5th, 2023, three civilians were killed and seven injured in alleged Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on residences along a road which links Idlib to the village of Ain Sheeb. The strikes occurred between 11:02 a.m. and 11:11 a.m. local time.

According to Syria Civil Defence (SCD), the first strike struck a residential house, located on a farm along the road at 11:02 a.m. The attack killed Absi Muhammad Sami Balsha (54), his wife Ibtisam Suleiman (40), and their son Ahmed Balsha (17).

A second strike hit the same location at 11:04 a.m.

The third strike occurred at 11:11 a.m. and struck a nearby residence, while humanitarian and medical workers—including some affiliated with Syrian Civil Defense—were rescuing injured civilians, per SCD News. The Syrian Network for Human Rights independently reported that this final attack wounded one aid worker.

Seven people were injured in the strikes: Abd al-Rahman Jazairi; Yahya Kayali; Mohamed Sabreen; Muhammad Abbas Benshi; his wife, Raghad Noman; and Omar Jamali. This list of victims is corroborated by Violations Documentation Center, Hdhod News, SCD News, and multiple independent reporters, among other sources. According to the Violet Organisation, the leader of its Idlib ambulance team, Abdul Aziz Natour, also sustained a minor injury.

Al-Marsad 80 and the Syrian Opposition Air Traffic Tracking Observatory reported that Russian forces launched the attack; on August 5th, two Russian Su-34 fighter jets left Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia to conduct raids across Idlib governorate. The Violations Documentation Center was the only source that accused the Syrian regime of carrying out the airstrikes.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights also suggested that the farm housed the headquarters of a local faction of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.