Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

TS461

Incident date

December 17, 2020

Location

الجهبل, Al Jahbal, Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

36.408418, 38.902309 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Local sources reported that two civilian males were killed in alleged Turkish artillery strikes on the village of Al Jahbal in eastern Ain Issa, Raqqa governorate, on December 17th, 2020.

According to Rudaw, “pro-Turkey militants carried out fresh attacks on Friday against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Ain Issa, with several civilian casualties reported by local outlets.”

@RojavaNetwork tweeted: “Civilian casualties reported as result of Turkish-backed terror groups targeting civilian home in the village of Al-Jahbel, eastern Ain issa.”

North Press Agency Syria reported: “A medical source from Ain Issa said that 31-year-old Yusef Abdo Maamou and his brother, 55-year-old Mustafa Abdo Maamou, were killed when the roof of their home collapsed on them. The source added that the bodies of the two brothers are still under the rubble of their house, and retrieval is impossible due to the village now sitting on the front lines. ” According to the source, the incident took place after midnight.

BissamFM reported that the strikes came from the village of Al Daif, which is about 20 kilometres north of Ain Issa town.

Rudaw wrote that residents of the villages surrounding Ain Issa “have previously told Rudaw of their fears of a Turkish attack, sleeping in deserted areas at night in case of renewed fighting.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

31 years old male killed
55 years old male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (2 men)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Turkish Military
  • Suspected target
    YPG/SDF

Sources (5) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Jahbal (الجهبل), for which the generic coordinates are: 36.408418, 38.902309. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Turkish Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Turkish Military
  • Turkish Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (2 men)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Turkish Military
  • Suspected target
    YPG/SDF

Sources (5) [ collapse]