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

16 February 2018

Incident Code

TS202

Location

ارندة, عفرين, Aranda, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
Local media reported that six civilians were injured following an alleged Turkish attack with missiles/artillery shells containing “toxic gas”. According to Nuce 24, the Turkish military occupation army targeted the village of Aranda, in the area of Shih, with an artillery shell poisoned by chemical gas (it is not yet known what the gas was).…

Summary

Published
16 February 2018
Civilians reported injured
6
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

15 February 2018

Incident Code

TS199

Location

خوتانة, Khoutana village, Bilbileh district, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
The Kurdish Red Crescent named one child was wounded in an alleged Turkish shelling of Khoutana. The victim was named as 10-year-old Mohemmed Noury Ibrahim, who reportedly sustained bruising to his head. There are no other details at this time.

Summary

Published
15 February 2018
Civilians reported injured
1
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

15 February 2018

Incident Code

TS200

Location

شيا عفرين, Shya, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
The Kurdish Red Crescent named one civilian was wounded followed an alleged Turkish shelling of Shya, Syria. The male victim was named at 21, who reportedly was wounded by shrapnel in the foot. No additional details are presently known.

Summary

Published
15 February 2018
Civilians reported injured
1
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

15 February 2018

Incident Code

TS201

Location

جنديرس,عفرين, Jindires, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
According to the Kurdish Red Crescent, two civilians were wounded with various shrapnel injuries in an alleged Turkish shelling of Jindires, Syria. The victims were identified by names and age. No additional details are presently known.  

Summary

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

15 February 2018

Incident Code

TS198

Location

معملا, Mamli, Rajo district, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
According to multiple reports, one named civilian killed, and an unidentified number of injured among civilians followed an alleged Turkish shelling of Mamli, Syria. ANF news named a 55-years-old, as a victim. Please note that the name on the card in the photo is Mahmood Barazi, but the source claims his name was Mohammed Hassan.…

Summary

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

14 February 2018

Incident Code

TS197

Location

قرية بيكه، عفرين, Beeka village, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
Rumaf sent a private report to Airwars alleging that that two civilians were wounded in Turkish shelling of Beeka village.  Amina Rasheed Sidou, aged 42, from the village of Bibaku in the town of Bulbulah, expressed her deep anger over the targeting of the village by the Turkish occupation army. She confirmed that she did…

Summary

Published
14 February 2018
Civilians reported injured
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 […]