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

9 October 2019

Incident Code

TS298

Location

Se Girka, Qamishli, Al Hassakah, Syria
A child aged six was reported injured or killed in an alleged Turkish forces artillery strike on Se Girka village in Qamishli countryside, October 9th 2019, according to local media sources. ANF news also reported that "in the same area, the Turkish forces attacked a vehicle belonging to civilians." @twkiedisqueen and @RojavaNetwork said the child…

Summary

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

Incident Date

9 October 2019

Incident Code

TS299

Location

القحطانية, Kel Hesnak, Al Hassakah, Syria
Four civilians were reported injured as a result of an alleged Turkish forces airstrike on Kel Hesnak village in Hasakah, October 9th 2019, according to local media. ANHA reported: "The bombing of the city center continued and four civilians were injured. Injured civilians were hospitalized."

Summary

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

Incident Date

9 October 2019

Incident Code

TS300

Location

Ashme, Kobane, Aleppo, Syria
One civilian was reported injured in an alleged Turkish forces airstrike on Ashme Village in Kobane, Aleppo governorate, October 9th 2019 according to local media. No additional public information is presently known about this claim.

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

9 October 2019

Incident Code

TS300C

Location

بوشيوخ, Beshioukh, Aleppo, Syria
One civilian was reported injured in an alleged Turkish forces airstrike and/or artillery strike on Beshioukh village, Kobane in Aleppo Governorate on October 9th, 2019, according to the local sources. The injured civilian was named as Mohammad Ahmad Aljasm, age 22. No other information available to Airwars. No further details are currently available.

Summary

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

Incident Date

25 September 2019

Incident Code

TI028

Location

كانى مازێ, Kani Mazi, Duhok, Iraq
One civilian, 19 or 20 years old, named as Yousef Jamal, died in an alleged Turkish airstrike on Kani Mazi village, Jammak, Amedi, sources said. According to ANF, "A 20-year-old teenager was seriously injured in the bombing and died in hospital despite doctors tried everything to save his life." Ninanews added that five other civilians…

Summary

Published
25 September 2019
Strike Type
Airstrike
Civilians reported killed
1
Civilians reported injured
5
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

25 September 2019

Incident Code

TI029

Location

زيوكة, Zaywakah, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq
Between two and five civilians including two children were wounded in alleged Turkish strikes on Zaywakah village, according to local media. Basnews reported: "Five civilians, including two children, were injured in Turkish air strikes which have been going on for two days inside the Kurdistan Region". ANF said two civilians were wounded. The Christian Peacemaker…

Summary

Published
25 September 2019
Strike Type
Airstrike
Civilians reported injured
2–5
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 […]