Incident Code

YS134

Location

تل أبيض, Tal Abyad, Raqqa, Syria

Geolocation

36.689111, 38.946356
Accuracy: Exact location (via Airwars)

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

Between two and four civilians were killed and up to 12 others were injured in alleged Syrian Democratic Forces airstrikes/drone strikes/shelling of Tal Abyad on June 1, 2022.

@DeirEzzorNow tweeted the names of the victims: two brothers “Wassim and Bashar Al-Barhou“, Hajj “Abdi Al-Hamran”, Khaled Al-Halisi 34 years old, adding that in addition “several” were wounded. A Facebook post from Hajin Today 2021 referred to Abdi Al-Hamran as being elderly and Athr Press identified two of those killed as being under the age of 18.

Al Khabour posted on Facebook that three people were killed by “PYD/PKK missile strikes” and 10 others were injured, some of them seriously. @ShahbaPress reported that “two civilians were killed and four wounded”, while @AlArabiya_Brk also put the number of killed at two but differed on the number of wounded, reporting that six civilians were wounded. A higher injury number was provided by @alamlmediatv, putting the injury toll at 12.

Halab Today added that among the injured, “our people were transferred to Turkish hospitals due to the difficulty of treating them in local hospitals” and that the death toll was expected to rise from three deaths that they identified. Athr Press reported that among the injured, two of them had their lower limbs (legs) amputated.

According to Rudaw News, quoting the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, one of the four people killed was a “fighter from the armed opposition” while the other three killed were civilians. The Syrian Observatory Observatory for Human Rights and the sources that quoted it where the only ones that identified any of those killed as being militants.

A tweet from @DeirEzzorNow reported that the bombing focused on the hospital surroundings and around the local council in Tal Abyad, and Rudaw News provided the name of the hospital to be Al-Hikma Hospital area. Al Khabour identified “Al-Mashfa Street and the Mall Street in the center of the city” as being struck in the bombing. @ShahbaPress described the area hit as being a popular market while Orient News referred to the bombed area as residential neighborhoods, specifically “Al-Layl neighborhood”.

The majority of sources that reported on the incident attributed the strikes to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)/Democratic Union Party (PYK). Al Khabour News added that rocket launchers were used in the attack, specifically five rocket-propelled grenades, while Orient News reported that  the militia (Farhad al-Shami) said that the bombing came via a drone. According to Halab Today, the SDF denied responsibility for the bombing, stating that the bombing had been carried out by an “unidentified drone”.

Victims

Individuals

34 years old male killed
Hajj "Abdi Al-Hamran" الحاج "عبدي الحمران"
male killed
Wassim Al-Barhou وسيم البرهو
male killed
Bashar Al-Barhou بشار البرهو
male killed

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Strike Type
Airstrike (Drone Strike), Airstrike and/or 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
2–4
1–2 Children, 1–2 Men
Civilians reported injured
6–12
Military actors reported killed
0–1

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the strike in Tal Abyad (تل أبيض). Analysing audio-visual material from sources we have narrowed down the location to these exact coordinates: 36.689111, 38.946356.

{"type":"FeatureCollection","features":[{"type":"Feature","properties":{"label":"Exact Location","label-type":"black-white","stroke":"#ff0000","stroke-width":1},"geometry":{"type":"Point","coordinates":[38.946356,36.689111]}},{"type":"Feature","properties":{"label":"A","label-type":"white-red","stroke":"#ff0000","stroke-width":1,"stroke-opacity":1,"fill-opacity":0},"geometry":{"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[38.94511699676514,36.68907186359609],[38.945343643426895,36.68907186359609],[38.945343643426895,36.68918155613126],[38.94511699676514,36.68918155613126],[38.94511699676514,36.68907186359609]]]}},{"type":"Feature","properties":{"label":"B","label-type":"white-red","stroke":"#ff0000","stroke-width":1,"stroke-opacity":1,"fill-opacity":0},"geometry":{"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[38.94570976495743,36.68928264519177],[38.94675850868225,36.68905250607365],[38.9467853307724,36.689125634466215],[38.94572049379349,36.68932673718717],[38.94570976495743,36.68928264519177]]]}},{"type":"Feature","properties":{"label":"C","label-type":"white-red","stroke":"#ff0000","stroke-width":1,"stroke-opacity":1,"fill-opacity":0},"geometry":{"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[38.94585192203522,36.68933856674262],[38.946146965026855,36.68933856674262],[38.946146965026855,36.68957408205859],[38.94585192203522,36.68957408205859],[38.94585192203522,36.68933856674262]]]}},{"type":"Feature","properties":{"label":"D","label-type":"white-red","stroke":"#ff0000","stroke-width":1,"stroke-opacity":1,"fill-opacity":0},"geometry":{"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[38.94624352455139,36.68923425150916],[38.94662708044052,36.68923425150916],[38.94662708044052,36.689480521266006],[38.94624352455139,36.689480521266006],[38.94624352455139,36.68923425150916]]]}}]}

Tagged audio-visual material from sources. Imagery Deir Ezzore Now

Tagged audio-visual material from sources. Imagery Deir Ezzore Now

Military Statements

YPG Assessment
Suspected belligerent
YPG
YPG position on incident
Not yet assessed

Media From Sources (22)

Sources (44)

Facebook Arabic

Twitter Arabic