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

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

TS305A

Location

القامشلي, Qamishli, Al Hassakah, Syria
Ten named civilians including two women were reported injured in alleged Turkish forces airstrikes on different areas in Qamishli city on October 10th, 2019 according to local media sources and the Kurdish Red Crescent.  

Summary

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

Incident Date

10 October 2019

Incident Code

TS305B

Location

أشميا, Ashmia, Aleppo, Syria
One civilian was reported injured in an alleged Turkish forces airstrike or artillery strike on Ashmia village in Kobane - Aleppo governorate on October 10th, 2019 according to local sources (Kurdish Red Crescent). The injured civilian was named as Shahin Omar Kersh - Age unknown. No further details are currently available.

Summary

Published
10 October 2019
Civilians reported injured
1
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

10–13 October, 2019

Incident Code

TS339a

Location

منبج‎ / عين العرب‎ / كوباني‎, M4 Highway, between Manbij and Kobani, Al Hassakah, Syria
Kurdish civilians were summarily executed by Turkish forces on the M4 highway in north east Syria, according to local media. Video shared by @zana_med on twitter shows Turkey-backed militants near bodies of two civilians that they executed earlier on the M4 highway in Hassakah governroate.  The date of the summary execution is not known but…

Summary

Published
13 October 2019
Civilians reported killed
2
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

10 October 2019

Incident Code

TS306D

Location

عين عيسى, Ain Issa, Raqqa, Syria
One civilian was reported wounded with burns likely caused by Turkey's use of White Phosphorus in Ain Issa, Aleppo in Syria on October 10th, 2019 according to a report by the Times. No further details available.

Summary

Published
10 October 2019
Strike Type
Airstrike
Civilians reported injured
1
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

10 October 2019

Incident Code

TS301

Location

En route to Girê Spî/ Tal Abyad, Raqqa, Syria
Three to five civilians were reported killed and many others injured in an alleged Turkish forces airstrike on a civilians' convoy on the way from Raqqa to Tal Abyad city, on October 10th 2019, according to local media sources. The sources said the civilians were heading to Tal Abyad to participate in a protest against…

Summary

Published
10 October 2019
Strike Type
Airstrike
Civilians reported killed
3
Civilians reported injured
5–10
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 […]