At approximately 21:45 on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, four civilians, including a child and her parents, were killed and at least two others and up to 10 civilians were injured in an attack allegedly carried out by the Turkish military in Tal Rifaat, Aleppo Governorate, Syria. According to local sources, the child and her parents were displaced from the city of Afrin.

Five-year-old girl Malak Shiyar was killed alongside her mother Jamila Khalil Waqas (age 32 or 37, according to different sources) and her father Ibrahim Muhammad Sheikho (55 or 60 years old, according to different sources), and a man Muhammad Waqfi (47 years old). Jamila was initially reported as heavily injured, but then reportedly succumbed to her injuries as later sources listed her among the deceased.

On October 25, Hawar News reported that as a result of the “barbaric shelling” of Tal Rifaat, “10 citizens were also injured, including the boy Ahmed al-Rifai (15 years old), and Sakina Muhammad Ismail (55 years old).

On the day of the alleged attack, ANF news reported that “the city of Tal Rifaat was subjected to artillery shelling from the areas of the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries. According to the information received, the shelling led to the martyrdom of two citizens, one of them a child, and the injury of seven others.” ANF news stated that the late Ibrahim Sheikho was 60 years of age. It also posted a graphic picture of a heavily injured child on a hospital bed.

According to SOHR News, “a man and his daughter were killed, and his wife and others from the same family were seriously injured, as a result of artillery shelling carried out by Turkish forces and their loyal factions on a house in the vicinity of the city of Tal Rifaat in the areas where the “Kurdish forces” and regime forces are deployed in the northern countryside of Aleppo. The number is expected to rise due to the critical condition of the wounded.”

Afrin Human Rights Observatory published three videos and a photo showing “the effects of the bombing that targeted the center of the town of Tal Rifaat in the Shahba canton.” The clips indicated structural damage to residential buildings, with the post specifying that “the houses that were targeted belong to the citizens Sheikh Bayram, Ali Bri, and Ahmed Ali Bri.”

On Facebook, journalist Roj Mousa reported (likely ironically) that “the “terrorists” targeted by Turkey…were the little girl Malak Shiyar, who was no more than six years old, and the elderly Ibrahim Muhammad Sheikho, who was sleeping peacefully in his home with his family. Mousa also posted a series of graphic photographs of the casualties.

Rojava News named five casualties resulting from the attack in Tal Rifaat as follows: “Ibrahim Muhammad Sheikho, 55 years old, from the village of Qasim in Afrin (martyr), Malak Shiyar, 5 years old (martyr), Ahmed Al-Rifai, 15 years old (injured), Jamila Khalil Waqas, 32 years old, mother of [Malak] (injured), Sakina Muhammad Ismail, 55 years old (injured).”

On October 24, Hawar News (ANHA) reported that “the Turkish occupation state began its attacks at approximately 21:45 on Wednesday by targeting the city of Tal Rifaat, where the occupation directly targeted civilian homes, leading to the martyrdom of four citizens, including a child.” The report also included photos of the victims.

The Violations Documentation Center (VDC) also named the four “martyrs” of the Tal Rifaat attack and stated that “Turkish attacks on northern Syria have escalated, with Turkish aircraft targeting several locations in the provinces of Hasakah and Aleppo…These attacks come from Turkey’s efforts to continue to pressure and control new areas.”

In an October 24 press statement, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced that “over the past hours, the Turkish occupation state launched a new wave of attacks on North and Eastern Syria Region, targeting civilian infrastructure, people gatherings, and security forces. These attacks resulted in the martyrdom of 12 civilians…(four in Tal Rifa’at in Al-Shahba’a areas), and injuries to 25 others, including serious injuries. In addition to populated areas, Turkish warplanes and UAVs targeted bakeries, power stations, oil facilities, and Internal Security Force checkpoints.”

Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to Turkish military and/or Turkish-aligned forces.