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

13 February 2018

Incident Code

TS195

Location

سعرنجكة٫شران, Sa'arnajka, Sharan district, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
Two civilians were wounded in an alleged Turkish shelling of Sa’arnajka, according to the Kurdish Red Crescent. The Smart News Agency also reported two wounded civilians but cited the Kurdish Red Crescent report. Please note, some of the images from TS193 and TS194 are also reported for this incident. We are unable to determine which…

Summary

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

13 February 2018

Incident Code

TS196

Location

قرية بيكه، عفرين, Shara, Aleppo, Aleppo, Syria
One man has been killed, and two have wounded in an alleged Turkish shelling of Shara. The Kurdish Red Crescent identified the victims by names and ages. The weapon used has not been reported. No additional details are presently known.  

Summary

Published
13 February 2018
Civilians reported killed
1
Civilians reported injured
2
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

13 February 2018

Incident Code

TS194

Location

بعدينو٫شيخ بلو٫ راجو, Ba'adino, Sheikh Billo, Rajo district, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
At least two civilians were wounded in an alleged Turkish shelling of Sheikh Billo in Afrin’s Rajo district. The Kurdish Red Crescent reported two injured in an intensive shelling by allegedly the Turk on Sheikh Billo in Afrin’s Rajo district. A private report from KRC reported the names and type of injury of the two adult…

Summary

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

13 February 2018

Incident Code

TS192

Location

جنديرس, Heikja, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
As many as three civilians - including two woman and a man - were killed, and six others were wounded in an alleged Trukish airstrike on Heikja village, according to local media. One source claimed that an unspecific number of children were also killed. The two female victims were named as two women. The Kurdish Red Crescent…

Summary

Published
13 February 2018
Civilians reported killed
2–3
Civilians reported injured
6
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

13 February 2018

Incident Code

TS193

Location

قوطا شرقية,بلبل, Qota Sharqiya, Bulbul district, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
According to two sources, some civilians were injured followed an alleged Turkish shelling on Qota Sharqiya, Bulbul district. The Kurdish Red Crescent reported three civilians were injured followed an alleged Turkish shelling of Qota Sharqiya, Afrin. The Smart News Agency also reported three wounded civilians but cited the Kurdish Red Crescent report. One of the…

Summary

Published
13 February 2018
Civilians reported injured
3
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

13 February 2018

Incident Code

TS191

Location

city of Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
Up to five civilians including one woman died and as many as ten others were wounded, including children, followed an alleged Turkish shelling of the city of Afrin, according to local media. Reports said that the Turkish army carried out heavy artillery shelling on Tuesday evening February 13, 2018, targeting both the neighbourhoods of Ashrafieh…

Summary

Published
13 February 2018
Civilians reported killed
1–5
Civilians reported injured
6–10
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 […]