Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

TS482

Incident date

December 30, 2021

Location

زركان, Zarkan, Hassakah, Syria

Geolocation

36.846934, 40.331261 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Nearby landmark level. Continue to map

Additional Geolocations

36.776363, 40.130898 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between two and five civilians, including up to two women and three children, were killed and up to 12 others, including women and children, were injured in alleged Turkish strikes on Zarkan ( Abu Rassein) on December 30, 2021.

According to the Hawar News Agency, three civilians, Jamala Musa Al-Nahar, Jawaher Musa Al-Nahar, and the two-year-old child Allam Ali Al-Issa, were killed and five others were injured in a Turkish bombing of Zarkan. Turkey Now put the number of injured at four.

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Jamala and Jawaher were sisters and Allam was the two year old child of Jawaher. North Press Agency identified Jamala as being an employee in the municipality of Al-Asadiya village. All were killed in artillery and missile shelling and in addition to the injury of five civilians, two members of the Syrian Democratic Forces were injured. The shelling allegedly struck a mosque in the town of Zarkan as well.

RT identified the three people killed as being “a man, a woman and a child”, adding that the strikes resulted in “the collapse of part of the Great Mosque in the town, and damage to some houses and public and private properties”. A video posted by RT also shows the moment the strikes hit the mosque.

A Facebook post from “News of the eastern region and the island” (أخبار المنطقة الشرقية والجزيرة) added the names of two others killed as: Muhammad Issa Omar’s child and baby Aladdin Nasser, in addition to the name of a civilian injured: Muhammed Khalaf.

Kurdistan24 gave a similar death toll on the low end of reports, a woman and a child killed, but added that 12 others, including women and children, were injured. Following the strikes, there was a large displacement of citizens fleeing the area on foot or on motorbikes because they feared being targeted if they used cars.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Family members (3)

Jawaher Musa Al-Nahar جواهر موسى النهار
female killed
Jamala Musa Al-Nahar جمالة موسى النهار
female killed
Allam Ali Al-Issa علام علي العيسى
2 years old killed

The victims were named as:

Muhammad Issa Omar's child
Child killed
Baby Aladdin Nasser
Child killed
Muhammed Khalaf
Age unknown injured

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 5
  • (1–3 children1–2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    5–12
  • 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
  • Belligerents reported injured
    2

Sources (9) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • One of the victims of alleged Turkish strikes on Zarkan December 30, 2021. (Image posted by News of the eastern region and the island)
  • Damage from alleged Turkish strikes on Zarkan December 30, 2021. (Image posted by North Press Agency)

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention strikes on the Great Mosque (الجامع الكبير) in the town of Zarkan (زركان), and on the village of Al Asadiya (الاسدية). The generic coordinates for the mosque are: 36.846934, 40.331261. The generic coordinates for Al Asadiya are: 36.776363, 40.130898. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the locations further.

{"type":"FeatureCollection","features":[{"type":"Feature","properties":{"label":"Great Mosque \n الجامع الكبير","label-type":"black-white"},"geometry":{"type":"Point","coordinates":[40.331261,36.846934]}},{"type":"Feature","properties":{"label":"Al Asadiya \n الاسدية","label-type":"black-white"},"geometry":{"type":"Point","coordinates":[40.130898,36.776363]}}]}

Turkish Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3 – 5
  • (1–3 children1–2 women)
  • Civilians reported injured
    5–12
  • 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
  • Belligerents reported injured
    2

Sources (9) [ collapse]