(Previous Incident Code: R4605)

On Wednesday, October 18th, 2023, two women and a man were reportedly injured as a result of the bombardment allegedly perpetrated by Russian military and/or Syrian regime forces on a residential neighborhood in the city of Sermin (Sarmin), east of Idlib, Syria. No further details on the identity of the injured civilians have been reported at the time of writing.

The injuries on the two women were allegedly caused by shrapnel from the bombing. According to Syrian Civil Defense, the man was injured by fractures and bruises as he slipped from the stairs in his house during the bombing. SCD posted a video showing how SCD volunteers accompanied the injured man dressed in a green T-shirt and black trousers to an ambulance, and it is seen that he limped on one leg. As the man’s injury was not directly caused by the bombing, his injury has not been counted in the civilian harm toll.

The Syrian Civil Defense said in a tweet that its teams treated the three injured civilians after the bombing, inspected the areas affected by the bombing, and ensured that there were no other casualties.

Several sources identified the belligerents as Syrian regime forces, while two sources also named the Russian military. In particular, the Syrian Arab Army operations Facebook account wrote: “A number of Russian and Syrian Air Force aircraft are flying in the skies of the Idlib countryside, targeting the locations and movements of armed terrorist organizations in the villages and towns of Sarmin, Jericho, Sheikh Yusuf, and Khafsarja.” Therefore, Airwars has graded both Strike Status and Civilian Harm Status as Contested.