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

10 February 2018

Incident Code

TS178

Location

متينة, Mateena village, Aleppo, Syria
Local media reported that Turkish airstrikes killed one civilian and wounded another two  as the village of Mateena, Aleppo, was targeted. Rumaf reported “At 13:00 local time, Turkish aircraft bombed a house along the village bridge, killing one civilian and injuring 2 others”. According to KDP, “seven shells fell in the middle of the station…

Summary

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

9 February 2018

Incident Code

TS175

Location

جنديرس, Jindires, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
In a private report to Airwars, the Kurdish Red Crescent named one as injured followed an alleged Turkish shelling of Jindires. The type of weapon is unknown. No further details are currently available.

Summary

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

9 February 2018

Incident Code

TS176

Location

شكفاتي وتوميشا, Shakfati and Tormmisha village, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
According to a signal source, an unidentified number of civilians were killed followed an alleged Turkish air strike on Shakfati and Tormmisha village, Afrin. Rumaf reported that At 16:00 on Friday, the Turkish invasion aircraft shelled the village of Shakfati and Tormisha, where it later emerged that the air invasion had committed a massacre against a…

Summary

Published
9 February 2018
Civilians reported killed
0–2
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

9 February 2018

Incident Code

TS177

Location

شيخ حديد, Sheikh Hadid, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the occurrence of civilian casualties as a result of the Turkish artillery shelling targeting areas in the Sheikh Hadid area in the western countryside of Afrin. The Observatory later put the number killed in Sheikh Hadid at three. No further details are currently available.  

Summary

Published
9 February 2018
Civilians reported killed
3
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

9 February 2018

Incident Code

TS172

Location

شاكتا, Shkata village, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
Between one and three civilians died in an alleged Turkish bombing of Shkata village, according to local media. The Military Council for Manbij and its Countryside reported that in the afternoon, at approximately 14:00, the Turkish Air Force launched several raids on the village of Shikata in the Shih area and targeted civilian houses. The…

Summary

Published
9 February 2018
Civilians reported killed
1–5
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

9 February 2018

Incident Code

TS173

Location

راجو, Rajo, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
According to the private report that Airwars received from the Kurdish Red Crescent, two civilians were wounded followed in an alleged Turkish shelling of Rajo. The type of weapon has not been reported. No further details are currently available.

Summary

Published
9 February 2018
Civilians reported injured
2
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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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 […]