Conflict

Turkish Military in Iraq & Syria

Incident Code

TS697

Location

قرية ام السطح, villages of Ousjali Saghir and Um Al-Satih, Manbij countryside, Aleppo, Syria

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

Around dawn on Thursday, May 23, 2024, an alleged Turkish artillery attack on the Ousjali Saghir, Umm al-Satih, and other villages in the western countryside of the Manbji province, Syria, killed a woman and injured five citizens, including three children.

Hawar News reported that 55-year-old Fateem Al-Dandan from the village of Umm Al-Satih in the western countryside of Manbij Province was killed while her 57-year-old husband Fayez Al-Abdullah was severely injured in the incident.

Four members of another family were also injured due to the bombardment of the IDP camp located in the village of Ousjali Saghir, which included expatriates from the city of Maskanah.

40-year-old Zaila Jamil Al-Ibrahim was severely injured alongside her daughter, 17-year-old Ilham Al-Hilal, and her two sons  – 17-year-old Fadi Al-Hilal and 10-year-old Abdullah Al-Hilal. The injured were transferred to Al-Furat Hospital in the center of the city of Manbji, to be treated and to undergo an amputation of the child Abdullah Al-Hilal’s leg.

Hawar News also posted a video of the victims in the hospital. A small boy Abdullah was seen lying on a hospital bed with an amputated leg. A correspondent talked to his mother, a middle-aged woman with her leg in plaster, and she shared the circumstances of her injury: “My name is Zaila Jamil Ali, I was sitting in my tent and the bombing started. I looked for protection and moved to our neighbor’s tent but the bombing hit us. I don’t know where my elder boy left and the other daughters but my kid Abdullah stuck with me. I was injured and couldn’t move my leg as well as my son in his leg…. We started bleeding for twenty minutes till the village people arrived and transferred us to this hospital.”

Multiple sources reported about four villages in the western countryside of Manbij canton – Ousjali Saghir, Umm al-Satih, Umm Mayal, and al-Batushiyah – being subjected to violent bombardment with artillery shells and rocket launchers by the Turkish military and its mercenaries at dawn. North Press Agency reported that more than 150 mortar and artillery shells were used in the attack.

Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria condemned the bombing that targeted villages in the Manbij countryside, resulting in the loss and injury of several people.

North Press Agency and ANF news included photos of the bombing in the countryside region of Manbij.

Hawar News included photos of the destruction caused by the bombing, showing the broken brick wall.

Where the sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to the Turkish forces.

Victims

Family members (2)

Fateem Al-Dandan فاطمة الدندان
55 years old female killed
Fayez Al-Abdullah فايز العبدالله
57 years old male husband of Fateem injured

Family members (4)

Zaila Jamil Al-Ibrahim زيلى جميل الإبراهيم
40 years old female injured
Ilham Al-Hilal إلهام الهلال
17 years old female daughter of Zaila injured
Fadi Al-Hilal فادي الهلال
17 years old male son of Zaila injured
Abdullah Al-Hilal عبدالله الهلال
10 years old male son of Zaila injured

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Strike Type
Artillery
Strike Status
Likely strike
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Civilians reported killed
1
1 Woman
Civilians reported injured
5
3 Children, 1 Woman, 1 Man

Military Statements

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

Media From Sources (11)