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
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Incident Date Publication Date ↓

Incident Date

7 March 2018

Incident Code

TS254

Location

no name of village yet, Jindires, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
According to multiple sources, two civilians women were wounded following an alleged Turkish shelling on civilian houses in Jindires, Afrin. ANHA reported that Jindires was targeted by "dozens of missiles and air raids", attributing blame to Turkey, like the rest of the known sources. Several sources including ANHA, ANF and Afrin now facebook published the injured victims by names. The victims…

Summary

Published
7 March 2018
Civilians reported injured
2
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

7 March 2018

Incident Code

TS255

Location

قرية مسكة فوقاني, Miska Jorin, Aleppo, Syria
At least four or five civilians died in an alleged Turkish shelling of Miska Jorin village, according to sources on the ground in Syria. Afrin Now reported the death of four civilians, three of whom were still under the rubble. Other sources also put the death toll at four. ANHA was among several sources publishing…

Summary

Published
7 March 2018
Civilians reported killed
4–5
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

7 March 2018

Incident Code

TS256

Location

ميدانكي,عفرين, Medankii district, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
According to several local reports, at least five civilians were wounded followed an alleged Turkish airstrike on the Medankii district in Afrin, Syria. Many media outlet posted picture and videos that reveal the civilians injured being treated at the medical centre following the incident. Multiple sources have published the name and age of the victims.

Summary

Published
7 March 2018
Civilians reported injured
5
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

6 March 2018

Incident Code

TS253

Location

كورتكة, Kortka village, Shara district, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
Two civilians died in an alleged Turkish shelling of Kortka village, according to local media. Rok Online reported: “Our correspondent said that the Turkish artillery bombardment of the village of Kortaka in the Shara district, east of the province, led to the death of one person, amid continuing clashes in the vicinity of Shara between…

Summary

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

6 March 2018

Incident Code

TS251

Location

ميركان, Mirkan villages, Aleppo, Aleppo, Syria
One named civilian died and a second was wounded in an alleged Turkish artillery shelling or Mirkan villages, local media reported. According to ANHA, Turkish strikes targeted the villages Mirkan and Kakhera of Mobata district, which in the case of Mirkan, killed one adult man and wounding another. The wounded man was reportedly recovering following…

Summary

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

Incident Date

6 March 2018

Incident Code

TS252

Location

كوهارة, Kokhra village, Mobata, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
One civilian, named as 50-year-old Asa’ad Izzat, died in an alleged Turkish shelling of Kokhra village, according to local media. According to ANHA, Turkish strikes targeted the villages Mirkan and Kakhera of Mobata district, which in the case of Mirkan, killed one adult man who was transferred to a hospital in Afrin.

Summary

Published
6 March 2018
Civilians reported killed
1
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 […]