At 10:30 AM on Monday, December 25th, 2023, six employees, among them a young woman, of the Simav (Simaf) printing press located on the Western Belt Road in the city of Qamishli in the Al-Hassakah Governorate, Syria, were killed, and many civilians were injured in an airstrike allegedly perpetrated by the Turkish military. One of the injured civilians died of his injuries on December 29th, 2023, bringing the total number of civilians killed to seven.

According to Hawar News, the bombing that targeted the Simav printing press in Qamishli was considered one the most violent of the attacks that the city was subjected to. It resulted in the destruction of the building and damage to the equipment. The victims’ shoes and jackets reportedly remained stained with blood.

Simav printing press established in 2013 was known for printing school textbooks, newspapers, and magazines. As reported by Hawar News, 27 employees began to work at 8 AM, and at 10:30 AM Turkish airplanes allegedly launched a violent bombardment.

Initially, Ivan Hassib and Dilovan Cito Facebook accounts reported about three employees killed, but later Anha News wrote about six victims. According to Anha News, many civilians were injured and transported to city hospitals for treatment. ANF reported on December 29, 2023 the death of one man who had been injured in this incident, thus bringing the death toll to seven.

A Facebook tribute by Qamishli guide and other social media testimonies helped to identify the names of seven victims:

1) Berivan Mihemed (Zubair) was a civil servant in the Publications Department and administrator in the printing press. According to the sources, she was around 30 years of age with long brown curly hair, light skin tone, big lined brown eyes, and medium body type. Facebook account Kahtaniya News posted a tribute to the late Berivan, sharing a photo of her wearing jeans, a black shirt, and a red jacket.

2) Ferhan Xelef (Khalaf) was the director of the Simav Press and Professor of the French language. He was a resident of the small village of Siha Bjok. He had a light skin tone and gray hair. A photo of him wearing a white shirt was posted by Yekiti media. Siha Bajuk Facebook account posted a tribute to the late professor, writing “It is with great sorrow and sadness that we inform you of the news of the martyrdom of the son of the village of Siha Bjok.”

3) Renas Hisen, a young man in his thirties, an employee with short black hair, mustache, beard, and light skin tone, wearing a white cap and a beige shirt with pockets.

4) Ruad (Riad) Hemo (Hamo), a 52-year-old male employee (according to the post by Dilovan Chito) pictured with short white hair, a beard, and wearing a white shirt.

5) Hussein (Hisen) Ahmed, one of the founders of the printing press, was a young man with a long black beard and mustache, short black hair, wearing a denim shirt in the picture shared by Qamishli guide.

6) Ferhan Teme (Tami) was a middle-aged man with black hair and thick eyebrows wearing a marine blue T-shirt with horizontal white stripes in his picture shared by Qamishli guide.

7) Jawan Ali was initially injured but later died of his injuries. According to the ANF media outlet, medical resources reported he received treatment. He was a young man with short black hair, a beard, brown eyes, and a long nose. He was posted wearing black jeans, a Christmas-style white sweater, a handwatch, and a jacket with a horizontal white stripe. It is not clear whether he had a direct relation to the printing press.

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

The incident occured at 10:30:00 local time.