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

22 March 2018

Incident Code

TI012

Location

Villages in Choman district, Erbil, Iraq
Four civilians died and 10 more were injured in alleged Turkish airstrikes on villages in the Choman area of Iraqi Kurdistan, local sources reported. According to IC Afrin Resistance, the “Turkish army’s attacks and #TurkishWarCrimes are spreading: Yesterday night at 1:05 am Turkish air-forces bombarded villages in the district Qesre of Erbil (South #Kurdistan /…

Summary

Published
22 March 2018
Strike Type
Airstrike
Civilians reported killed
2
Civilians reported injured
10
Military actors reported killed
2
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

21 March 2018

Incident Code

TS284

Location

بايعة, Ba'iya village, Shirawa district, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
According to multiple local sources, two civilians died in an alleged Turkish shelling of Ba’iya village. The SDF accused the Turkish occupation army of bombing the surrounding villages which resulted in the deaths of civilians in the village of Ba’iya. Sources reported that "the Kurdish units destroyed a military vehicle of the Turkish army, stressing…

Summary

Published
21 March 2018
Civilians reported killed
2
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

19 March 2018

Incident Code

TS283

Location

كيمار, Kimar village, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
Several sources claimed civilians casualties following alleged Turkish airstrikes or artillery shelling on Kimar village, Afrin - though specific numbers were not given. Claudia, a Kurdish activist, tweeted: "Invaders warplanes are bombing the Kimar village amid intense clashes. We should expect a new massacre of civilians in this village." ANF added that "according to reports from the…

Summary

Published
19 March 2018
Civilians reported killed
0–2
Civilians reported injured
0–2
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

18 March 2018

Incident Codes

CS1739a TS282a

Location

تل حميس, Tal Hamees, South of al Qamishli, Al Hassakah, Syria
Multiple sources reported that Turkey carried out airstrikes on SDF positions in Tal Hamees, South of al Qamishli. However, other outlets also stated that this was not the case and that the US-led Coalition conducted strikes on homes which reportedly held family members of ISIS. However, no casualty estimates were given. The Shaam News Network,…

Summary

Published
18 March 2018
Military Actor
U.S.-led Coalition, Turkish Military
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Incident Date

17 March 2018

Incident Code

TS279

Location

محمودية, Mahmoudiya neighbourhood, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
Between 11 and 13 civilians died in an alleged Turkish airstrike on a convoy of cars in the Mahmoudiya neighbourhood of Afrin, according to local media. IC Afrin reported that two vehicles were hit with dozens of people on the road out of Afrin to Tirinde village. The people were attempting to flee the area…

Summary

Published
17 March 2018
Civilians reported killed
11–13
Civilians reported injured
12
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

17 March 2018

Incident Code

TS280

Location

باسوطة, Basouta road, south of Afrin city, Aleppo, Syria
According to a single source, one male has been killed followed Turkish shelling of Basouta road, Afrin. The source identified the victim name as Azad. The tweet embedded two images of the father standing over his dead son’s body following an alleged Turkish shelling of Basouta road. However, it is unclear when the victim died – and…

Summary

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

Research and Investigations

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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 […]