On Saturday, October 7th, 2023, an alleged Turkish artillery shelling in Khalidiya village, located in the Ain Essa countryside, Syria, reportedly killed an elderly woman and injured at least one other person, her husband.

Numerous sources, such as Facebook page Ehlê Qamişlo, have named the deceased woman as Amsha Muhammad Hilal Al-Baqer, aged 65, and her injured husband as Muhammad Al-Khalaf Al-Ali, aged 70. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), referring to Raqqa Governorate, along with North Syria network reported that two of their children were also injured while other sources only mentioned the husband’s injury. However, no further details were shared.

SOHR reported that the elderly woman and her husband’s house was shelled by Turkish forces who were bombing military sites belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces. However, according to Ehle Qamishlo, the attack was part of efforts by the Turkish military to strike “civilians who were denouncing the Turkish… attacks in front of a Russian forces base in the village of Al-Khalidiya”.

Devastating photographs of Amsha Hilal Al-Baqer deceased and Muhammad Al-Khalaf Al-Ali being treated in hospital were shared by multiple sources, such as Rojava Post.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to Turkish military.