Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Between seven and nine civilians from one family died in an alleged Turkish airstrike on Ma’abatli village, according to sources on the ground. The family were reportedly from the city of Idlib. Local media said that three of them remained under the rubble.
The story of the family’s death formed the basis of an article by Robert Fisk in The Independent, who said the strike took place at around 1am and hit the family home: “When Taha Mustafa al-Khatr, his wife Amina, his two daughters Zakia and Safa and son Sulieman went to bed in the tiny village of Maabatli, they placed their shoes outside the door. Most Middle Eastern families do the same. It’s a tradition and a sign of cleanliness in the home. The cheap plastic slippers were still there, of course, when the Turkish shell hit their house at one in the morning – and when I arrived a few hours later, I found the same shoes, a few blown down the stairs but most still neatly lined up next to each other. Did one of the daughters choose the slippers with the plastic bows? Even the rescue workers – such as they are in the Kurdish province of Afrin – didn’t touch the shoes. They left one of the blood-soaked bedspreads where it was in the rain under the collapsed roof of the cheap breeze-block house. The bodies, of course, had gone.”
Al Jazeera put the death count at nine
The local time of the incident is unknown.
- Taha Al-Khater 40 years old male reported by Free Afrin who said their “bodies arrived at the hospital” killed
- Amina Al-Khater 40 years old female reported by Free Afrin who said their “bodies arrived at the hospital” killed
- Zakiya al Khater 15 years old female reported by Free Afrin who said their “bodies arrived at the hospital” killed
- Suleiman Al-Khater 14 years old male reported by Free Afrin who said their “bodies arrived at the hospital” killed
- Israa Al-Khater Adult female reported by Free Afrin who said their “bodies arrived at the hospital” killed
- Mostafa Taha Al Khater 17 years old male named by the Kurdish Red Crescent killed
- Yusra Taha Al Khater 9 years old female named by the Kurdish Red Crescent killed
- Safa Taha Al Khater 19 years old female named by the Kurdish Red Crescent killed
Summary
Sources (20) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (12) [ collapse]
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
-
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Ma’abatli village, Afrin (معبطلي), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.562634, 36.74562. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.