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

24 February 2018

Incident Code

TS226

Location

عرب ويران, Arab Weyran, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
According to IC Afrin resistance, “Mihemed Sido Yusif, from Rejio/Bedina, Fayiq Cafer from Shera/Arab Werane [Syria] and Durshata Mihemed Ali, also from Shera/Arab Werane, were heavily injured by Turkish jets.” The victims were also named by Rojnews.

Summary

Published
24 February 2018
Civilians reported injured
4
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

24 February 2018

Incident Code

TS225

Location

كوتانة، عفرين, Kotana, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
One child was killed and seven others were wounded in an alleged Turkish airstrike on Kotana, according to sources on the ground. Hawar News reported “Ibrahim Rashid Rasho, a 4-year-old child, was killed as a result of the shelling. His brother Hussein Rasheed Rasho, aged 5, was also hit. Six others were wounded - they…

Summary

Published
24 February 2018
Civilians reported killed
1
Civilians reported injured
7
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

23 February 2018

Incident Code

TS224

Location

قسطل جاندو, Qastal Jando, Aleppo, Syria
Local media named two boys as wounded in an alleged Turkish shelling of Qastal Jando, Syria. However, these two boys were also named as wounded in event 107 at Kotana. There is, therefore, currently confusion over the location in which the boys were wounded.

Summary

Published
23 February 2018
Civilians reported injured
2
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

23 February 2018

Incident Code

TS222

Location

جنديرس,عفرين, Jindires, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
One civilian died in an alleged Turkish bombing of Jindires, Syria, according to local media. On February 23rd, Hawar News said: “The Turkish occupation army is constantly bombarding the area of Gondrissa with planes and artillery. Hundreds of shells fall daily on the center and villages of the area. As a result of the Turkish…

Summary

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

Incident Date

23 February 2018

Incident Code

TS223

Location

كوتانة، عفرين, Kotana, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
Two to four civilian boys were wounded in an alleged Turkish artillery shelling of Kotana, Syria, local media said. According to the source IC Afrin Resistance, “the Turkish army shelled the village Kotana / Bilbile district. Two boys have been injured. Both were brought to a health center in Meydanke district." The boys – Ali…

Summary

Published
23 February 2018
Civilians reported injured
2–4
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

22 February 2018

Incident Code

TS221

Location

جنديرس,عفرين, Jindires, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
One civilian died and up to four others were wounded in alleged Turkish air and artillery strikes on Jindires, according to local media. The dead civilians remains anonymous. According to the source Afrin Qalb Alhadath, four civilians were injured in addition to the one killed. According to Anf, “Cobra helicopter gunships belonging to the Turkish…

Summary

Published
22 February 2018
Civilians reported killed
1
Civilians reported injured
2–4
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 […]