Conflict

Russian Military in Syria

Incident Code

RS4959

Location

تير معلة, Teir Ma'ala, Homs, Syria

Geolocation

34.802214, 36.709353
Accuracy: Town

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: August 11, 2025

(Previous Incident Code: R4773)

On December 6th, 2024, Abdul Halim al-Rashed (Abu Obeida) was reportedly killed by alleged Russian and/or Syrian regime airstrikes and/or artillery shelling in Tir Maala, Homs, Syria.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights reported that one person had been killed in Tir Maala as a result of Syrian regime attacks on Homs. A Facebook post from Kinan Ezz El-Din identified Abdul Halim as a victim of Russian airstrikes on Tir Maala.

Videos published by @ashrafnsier, among others, purported to show “the moment when Russian aircraft targeted a convoy of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham militants in the area of ​​the village of Tir Maala”. In the video, an explosion can be heard and smoke can be seen in the distance as men cheer on a stream of vehicles, some with weapons. In the second video, smoke can be seen rising above an urban area. There were no mentions of militant casualties among the local sources found, and source Abo Nasser mentioned that the town of Tir Maala was crowded with civilians at the time.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all but two sources attributed the strike to the Russian military, which reportedly carried out the attack with warplanes and mortar shells on an area crowded with civilians. However, Twitter/X user @Roaastudies and SNNI on Facebook alleged that the perpetrator of the strike was the Syrian regime.

Assessment Updates

11 August 2025
Geolocation added. Incident had not been geolocated when originally published.

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
1 Man

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Teir Ma’ala (تير معلة), for which the generic coordinates are: 34.802214, 36.709353. 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
Syrian Regime Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Syrian Regime
Syrian Regime position on incident
Not yet assessed

Media From Sources (9)