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

14 November 2018

Incident Code

TI019

Location

عمادية, Amadiyah, Duhok, Iraq
At least three civilian men were killed in alleged Turkish airstrikes targeting the Kurdish district of Amadiyah, Dohuk. No sources mentioned the number of wounded. Several sources identified three victims by name. Ramadan Rikani, a local official of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) added that the victims were "sons of one village, two of them…

Summary

Published
14 November 2018
Civilians reported killed
3
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

3 November 2018

Incident Code

TI018

Location

دهوك, Duhok, Duhok, Iraq
Several sources reported that an alleged Turkish airstrike killed a civilian near the province of Duhok. A "security source" quoted in reports from Almaalhomah, Iraqhbar and Alahdnews, mentions that "the bombing killed a farmer near the place of the fall of a missile." He reportedly added that "the body was transferred to the Department of…

Summary

Published
3 November 2018
Civilians reported killed
1
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

1 November 2018

Incident Code

TS285

Location

تل أبيض, Tel Fender, Raqqa, Syria
Local sources reported that a girl was killed due to Turkish shelling on Tal Fander, one of the Tal Abyad villages in northern Raqqa. Although most sources reported that the girl was killed in an airstrike, Smart claimed that the Turkish army targeted the village with heavy machine guns and sniper fire, which allegedly killed the girl after…

Summary

Published
1 November 2018
Civilians reported killed
1
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

15 August 2018

Incident Code

TI017

Location

سنجار, Sinjar, Nineveh, Iraq
A former leader (Zaki Shankali) of the PKK in Sinjar reportedly died along with four Yazidi people in alleged Turkish airstrikes on their convoy in Sinjar at 5 p.m on August 15th, according to sources on the ground. The combat status of the Yazidi people is in question, however, as one source referred to them…

Summary

Published
15 August 2018
Civilians reported killed
0–5
Civilians reported injured
2–4
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

6 April 2018

Incident Code

TI015

Location

سدكان, Sedkan, Erbil, Iraq
Two civilians were injured in an alleged Turkish artillery strike on Sedkan, according to local sources. Basnews reported that "on Friday [April 6th], Turkish artillery continued to bombard the area of ​​Bradust and its villages in Siddakan (northeast of Erbil), injuring two civilians and displacing about 120 others from their villages. According to information received…

Summary

Published
6 April 2018
Civilians reported injured
2
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

25 March 2018

Incident Code

TI014

Location

شيلاديزي, Shiladeza, Duhok, Iraq
According to local sources, one civilian was killed and one or two more were injured in an alleged Turkish airstrike on the Shiladeza area, north of Duhok province in Iraqi Kurdistan. One local source told Roj News Agency that the raids began in the afternoon, striking the village of Hillah, “in the area between Rikani…

Summary

Published
25 March 2018
Civilians reported killed
1
Civilians reported injured
1–2
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 […]