Casualty Recording ▸ Conflicts

Turkish Military in Iraq & Syria

Turkey fought numerous military actors after intervening militarily in the Syrian Civil War in 2015, primarily against Kurdish forces but also at times the Islamic State. In northern Iraq, Turkey’s military campaign against Kurdish militant groups has expanded in recent years.

Airwars has documented hundreds of allegations of civilian harm by Turkish strikes against Kurdish-affiliated forces in Iraq and Syria since 2015.

Airwars estimate of civilian deaths

1,009 – 1,493

Locally reported civilian deaths from declared or likely Turkish Military actions in Iraq and Syria for which the reporting was assessed by Airwars as Fair, or have been Confirmed by the Turkish Military. These originate from 980 separate alleged incidents.

215 – 242
children likely killed
150 – 170
women likely killed
2,439
likely injured
2,230
named victims

Turkish Military estimate of civilian deaths

0

Confirmed civilian deaths, from Turkish Military actions in Iraq and Syria, originating from 0 separate incidents of civilian harm.

civilians confirmed injured
Alleged deaths
1,752 – 2,484
Locally reported civilian deaths from Turkish Military actions in Iraq and Syria.
980 seperate alleged incidents
Confirmed or Fair
1,009 – 1,493
Civilian deaths for which the reporting was assessed by Airwars as Fair, or have been Confirmed by Turkish Military
731 seperate alleged incidents
Weak
116 – 134
Civilian deaths for which the reporting was assessed by Airwars as Weak.
164 seperate alleged incidents
Contested
326 – 556
Civilian deaths for which the reporting is assessed by Airwars as Contested.
82 seperate alleged incidents
Discounted
301
Civilian deaths were Discounted by Airwars after assessment.
2 seperate alleged incidents
969 incidents
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Incident Date Publication Date ↓

Incident Date

12 October 2019

Incident Code

TS319

Location

تروازية checkpoint, Tirwaziya checkpoint, Raqqa, Syria
Three civilians including a female politician, The Secretary General of the Future Syria Party, Hevrin Khalaf, were "executed" when the convoy they were travelling in was reportedly ambushed by "Turkish backed mercenary factions" on the road between Jazeera canton and Ain Issa, multiple sources said. Hervin Khalaf's driver Farhad Ramadan was also believed to be…

Summary

Published
12 October 2019
Strike Type
Counter-Terrorism Action (Ground)
Civilians reported killed
3
Causes of Death / Injury
Small arms and light weapons, Use of objects and other means
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

12 October 2019

Incident Code

TS318

Location

كوباني, Qamishli, Al Hassakah, Syria
Local media reported that a young female, named as Eiman Hajji Sharif, died after being shot by a Turkish sniper in Qamishli. Kurdish Red Crescent named the victim Imam Ibrahim, male, 24 years old while other sources named them Iman Ibrahim. However, all other sources said that the victim was female and named her as…

Summary

Published
12 October 2019
Strike Type
Counter-Terrorism Action (Ground)
Civilians reported killed
1
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Small arms and light weapons
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

12 October 2019

Incident Code

TS317

Location

بركي, Pirikê, Al Hassakah, Syria
@c1wan tweeted:  "A shepherd named Xelîl Seîd Hemkê Kurd lost his life after the Turkish army attacked the village of Pirikê with a howitzer. An Assyrian citizen named Danî Hena was also injured." The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said: "A civilian who was grazing livestock was killed in shelling launched by the Turkish Forces…

Summary

Published
12 October 2019
Strike Type
Artillery, Counter-Terrorism Action (Ground)
Civilians reported killed
1
Civilians reported injured
1
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Small arms and light weapons
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

11 October 2019

Incident Code

TS314

Location

البديع, Bedî, Raqqa, Syria
Three civilians were killed in alleged Turkish airstrikes on the village of Bedî, south of the town of Tal Abyad/Girê Spî, Raqqa governorate, as reported by local sources. Yeni Özgür Politika (@y_ozgurpolitika) stated on Twitter that Turkish warplanes were responsible for the airstrikes and reported that "many" were  injured, but the exact number of wounded civilians…

Summary

Published
11 October 2019
Strike Type
Airstrike
Civilians reported killed
3
Civilians reported injured
2–5
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

11 October 2019

Incident Code

TS312

Location

تل أبيض‎, Tal Abyad/Girê Spî, Raqqa, Syria
Between two to four civilians were injured as the result of alleged Turkish army shelling on the village of Tal Abyad or Girê Spî, according to @dersi4m and ANF News.  

Summary

Published
11 October 2019
Strike Type
Artillery
Civilians reported injured
2–4
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

11 October 2019

Incident Code

TS311

Location

متينان, Metin, Aleppo, Syria
Three civilians were reported killed in alleged Turkish shelling on the village of Metin, east of the city of Kobane, on October 11th, 2019, as reported by local sources. @y_ozgurpolitika has identified one of the victims as Eidan Sheikh Ahmad, male, 60 years old, who was taken to the hospital a few hours after the…

Summary

Published
11 October 2019
Strike Type
Artillery
Civilians reported killed
3
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Research and Investigations

View all →
17 May, 2023
Visualisation
Iraq

Reported civilian deaths from Turkish Military strikes in Iraq

Database tracks casualties in Iraq during Turkish strikes
6 Sep, 2022
Visualisation
Iraq, Syria

Turkish Military in Iraq and Syria Casualty Map

Turkey has conducted hundreds of unilateral air and artillery strikes in both Syria and Iraq – as well as a small number of actions as part of the US-led Coalition against so-called Islamic State. From July 2015 in Iraq, occasional unilateral Turkish airstrikes began targeting Kurdish militants in northern Kurdistan. Thirteen months later, the first […]
8 Feb, 2022
Investigations
Iraq

Who killed Ahmed and Youssef?

When two Iraqi holidaymakers were killed in the Kurdish region of the country, the finger of blame turned to Turkish strikes. But this investigation finds a roadside bomb was the more likely cause.
25 Feb, 2021
Research
Iraq, Türkiye

Renewed military campaign in northern Iraq against PKK sees deaths of 13 Turkish captives

A renewed campaign by Turkey in mid February against a Kurdish militant faction – which has seen Turkish troops pushing deeper than ever before into northern Iraq – also saw the deaths of thirteen Turkish civilian and military captives in a highly controversial attack, Airwars monitoring of the region shows. On February 10th, the Turkish […]
24 Dec, 2019
Update
Syria

More than 220 civilians likely killed in Turkish invasion of northern Syria

Eleven weeks on from the October 9th launch of a Turkish-led offensive against Kurds in northern Syria, known as ‘Operation Peace Spring’, fighting continues to rage with civilians still encountering significant violence. Since the beginning of the latest clashes, Airwars researchers have overall monitored between 244 and 312 reported civilian deaths resulting from air, artillery […]
18 Oct, 2019
Update
Syria, Türkiye

Civilians severely at risk from Turkish invasion of Northern Syria

Airwars monitors locally reported civilian harm from all Turkish air and artillery strikes in Iraq and Syria, as well as from Kurdish counterfire actions. Our database can be found here. More than 120 civilian deaths have been locally alleged in eight days of fighting in northern Syria to October 16th, following a Turkish-led offensive, ‘Operation […]