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
Order results by:
Incident Date Publication Date ↓

Incident Date

11 October 2019

Incident Code

TS316

Location

عين ديوار, Ayn Diwar, Al Hassakah, Syria
At least two civilians were wounded in an alleged Turkish shelling of Ayn Diwar village, east of Derik, local sources said. @dersi4m tweeted: "The Turkish army is shelling the village Ayn Diwar, 12 km eastern of Derik. Two civilians have been wounded." ANF reported: "The village of Ayn Diwar, 12 km east of Derik city…

Summary

Published
11 October 2019
Strike Type
Airstrike and/or Artillery
Civilians reported injured
2
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

11 October 2019

Incident Code

TS307

Location

تل أبيض, Tal Abyad, Raqqa, Syria
Seven civilians were reported killed in an alleged Turkish forces airstrike and sniper attacks on Tal Abyad in Raqqa governorate on October 11th, 2019 according to local media sources. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SO4HR), the airstrike took place on Ali al-Bajelyeh village in Tal Abyad. AFP News reported that four civilians…

Summary

Published
11 October 2019
Strike Type
Airstrike
Civilians reported killed
7
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

TS315

Location

تل رفعت و شيخ عيسى, Tal Rifat and Sheikh Issa, Aleppo, Syria
At least four children were wounded in an alleged Turkish shelling of Tal Rifat and Sheikh Issa in Aleppo governorate, according to local media. Sources didn't give the number of children wounded, though pictures showed four children with injuries. There was also a graphic image of a wounded adult.  

Summary

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

Incident Date

10 October 2019

Incident Code

TS306

Location

القامشلي, Qadourbek neighborhood, Al Hassakah, Syria
Four civilians including one child and two elderly women were reported killed and nine other civilians injured in an alleged Turkish forces shelling on Qadourbek neighborhood in Qamishli, on October 10th, 2019, according to local media sources. Mohammed Yousif Hussein was reported killed, and his sister Sara Yousif Hussein, lost a leg in the attack.…

Summary

Published
10 October 2019
Strike Type
Artillery
Civilians reported killed
4
Civilians reported injured
9
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

10 October 2019

Incident Code

TS305

Location

Nayif Girê, Al Hassakah, Syria
A civilian was reported injured in an alleged Turkish forces airstrike on Nayif Girê village in Qamishli, on October 10th 2019, according to local media sources. The victim was named as Mihemed Ehmed El-Hemadî.

Summary

Published
10 October 2019
Strike Type
Airstrike
Civilians reported injured
1
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

10 October 2019

Incident Code

TS304

Location

Qamishli: Qidurbek, Al Hassakah, Syria
Three civilians including a child and a woman died in an alleged Turkish forces airstrike on Qidurbek neighbourhood in Qamishli - Hasaka governorate on October 10th 2019, accoridng to local sources. Smart News said that two civilians "were injured in Turkish artillery shelling on Qidurbek neighbourhood in al-Qamishli city of Hasaka." ANHA reported that Beşir…

Summary

Published
10 October 2019
Strike Type
Airstrike
Civilians reported killed
3
Civilians reported injured
1–2
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 […]