Incident Code

RS834

Location

ﺣﻠﺐ, Al Castello road Aleppo, Aleppo, Syria

Geolocation

36.197971, 37.1656697
Accuracy: City

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

(Previous Incident Code: R741)

Between eight and 15 civilians died when a bus was struck on the Al Castello road, according to local sources – though reports were conflicted as to whether Russia or the Assad regime were to blame.

The Shaam News Network initially reported regime warplanes killed six civilians when they “fired near a bus on Al Castello Road“.

However, SNN later appeared to change their position and blamed Russia for the incident and suspected 10 civilians killed who were attempting to flee the city of Aleppo. In a second report by SNN the death toll was reported to have risen to 14. SNN later alleged both warplanes and helicopters were part of the offensive.

Syrian Human Rights Committee, Radio AlKul and Jisr TV all attributed the incident to Russia.

According to the video published by Jisr TV,Russian warplanes attacked a mini van on the Castello Road and killed 14 civilians, including children and women. There were 10 burned vehicles and the road is very dangerous.”

But other sources, including Qasioun and Syria News Desk, said that the regime was responsible, with Qasioun reporting that “regime planes threw an explosive barrel on Castello Road” which hit the bus.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights was among other sources who blamed warplanes, but did not identify them.

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Contested
Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
Civilians reported killed
8–15
Civilians reported injured
2

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the city of Al Castello road Aleppo (ﺣﻠﺐ), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.197971, 37.1656697. 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
Russia has not reported any strikes between June 1st – 31st 2016.
Syrian Regime Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Syrian Regime
Syrian Regime position on incident
Not yet assessed

Media From Sources (4)