Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

TS655

Incident date

October 27, 2023

Location

ساحة ازادي, Azadi Square, city of Al-Malikiyah (Dayrik), Qamishlo canton, Al-Hasakah, Syria

Airwars assessment

On Friday, October 27, 2023, an 11-year-old child Ahmed Shaheen was injured alongside a 39-year-old woman Avin Khalil, and later died of his injuries inflicted by an drone strike declared by the Turkish military on the Azadi Square in Al-Malikiyah city, also known as Dayrik, in the Hasakah countryside, Syria, an area under the influence of the Autonomous Administration.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the strike also killed a senior commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces and the coordinator with the International Coalition Forces, Shibli Dirik (Farhad Derik), when he was leaving his home in Azadi Square. According to SOHR, Dirik had previously been targeted in a failed assassination attempt by a Turkish drone. Multiple sources on social media posted the images of the deceased militant.

SOHR reported that the injured child and woman were hospitalized in a hospital in Hasakah. Later on the same day, October 27, 2023, SOHR provided an update claiming that the child died due to the wounds.

The airstrike was also reported by multiple prominent local media outlets, which corroborated the location, number of the victims, their identities, ages, and information regarding the suspected belligerent. One source, Qamishlo now, claimed that two children were injured as a result of the attack; however, it did not provide details regarding the identity of the victim.

On the day of the incident, a local news outlet on Facebook posted a video which appeared to show the remains of a shell, allegedly as a result of the attack. Meanwhile, another media agency shared a picture showing the damage to the house with a broken window and the remains of the shell on the ground.

The Turkish government released a statement through state-run Anadolu Agency that the Turkish intelligence agency (MIT) “neutralized terrorist Muhammed Azo [his Arabic name rather than his Kurdish name], the so-called Derik brigade leader of the terrorist organization PKK/YPG, in an operation in northern Syria.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

The victims were named as:

Ahmed Shaheen أحمد شاهين
11 years old male killed
Avin Khalil أفين خليل
39 years old female injured

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 child)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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.
  • Known attacker
    Turkish Military
  • Known target
    YPG/SDF
  • Belligerents reported killed
    1

Sources (10) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (7) [ collapse]

  • Source: Derke Hamko facebook
  • Source: Qamishlo voice facebook
  • Source: Qamishlo voice facebook
  • Source: Qamishlo voice facebook
  • Source: Kobani live facebook
  • Source: Qamishlo now facebook

Turkish Military Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

Turkish Military

According to information obtained from security sources, Muhammed Azo was targeted by MİT last year, but he survived the operation injured.

Action was taken after it was determined that terrorist Azo, who was sent abroad by the terrorist organization PKK/YPG for treatment, returned to Derik in northern Syria.

MİT neutralized terrorist Azo, the so-called Derik brigade leader of the terrorist organization PKK/YPG, in an operation in northern Syria.

Terrorist Muhammed Azo was wanted on the grounds that he was the perpetrator of the attack on the Yakacık Police Station of the 1st Border Battalion Command on the Şırnak/Cizre-Silopi road on February 2, 2022, in which private Tarık Tarcan was martyred and 3 soldiers were injured, 20 days before his discharge. .

While Muhammed Azo was serving as the so-called brigade officer in the terrorist organization, he served as the coordination officer of the joint exercise in which 250 PYD/YPG terrorists participated with the United States in Derik in northern Syria on September 7, 2022, and posed candidly with US soldiers. was also determined.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 child)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • 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.
  • Known attacker
    Turkish Military
  • Known target
    YPG/SDF
  • Belligerents reported killed
    1

Sources (10) [ collapse]