Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

TS695

Incident date

May 18, 2024

Location

سد الشهباء, Al-Shahba Dam vicinity in the north of Aleppo, Aleppo, Syria

Airwars assessment

An artillery or drone strike reportedly perpetrated by the Turkish military on the morning of Saturday, May 18th, 2024, resulted in the death of a child and the injury of three other children on an agricultural land in the Al-Shahba Dam vicinity located in the northern countryside of Aleppo Governorate, Syria.

The victim, Fares Khalaf Ibrahim, a 13-year-old boy, was initially under intensive care at Afrin Hospital following the attack. Unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries the following day, as reported by Hawar News.

According to the medical staff at Afrin Hospital, another victim, 14-year-old Matar Fadel Ibrahim under intensive care too, had his leg amputated due to his injury. Multiple photos and a video showed him in pain and wearing a navy blue zip-up sweatshirt and gray pants while being treated. Another blurred photo showed his left leg seriously damaged at the knee.

Additionally, 16-year-old Doha Hassan and 15-year-old Khadija Ismail were also taken to the hospital and later on reported to be in stable condition.

The kids came from the village of Owaisa and were accompanied by their families, who were harvesting crops in the agricultural land where the incident happened. The bombing also killed 13 sheep owned by Khader Saud.

Although ANF News claimed the attack coincided with the presence of drones flying in the area, the rest of the sources indicated that the strike was an artillery bombardment.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all the sources identified the Turkish military as responsible for the attack.

The incident occured in the morning.

The victims were named as:

Doha Hassan الدوحة حسن
16 years old male injured
Khadija Ismail خديجة إسماعيل
15 years old female injured
Matar Fadel Ibrahim مطر فاضل إبراهيم
14 years old male injured
Fares Khalaf Ibrahim فارس خلف إبراهيم
13 years old male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Airstrike and/or Artillery, Drone Strike
  • Infrastructure
    Agriculture
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 child)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3
  • 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 belligerent
    Turkish Military

Sources (9) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (4) [ collapse]

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Hawar News news
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: Hawar News
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    Source: ANF news
  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

Turkish Military Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Airstrike and/or Artillery, Drone Strike
  • Infrastructure
    Agriculture
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 child)
  • Civilians reported injured
    3
  • 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 belligerent
    Turkish Military

Sources (9) [ collapse]