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
Order results by:
Incident Date Publication Date ↓

Incident Date

6 February 2018

Incident Code

TS159

Location

كوتانة، عفرين, Kotana, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
According to local media, one woman was wounded followed an alleged Turkish shelling of Kotana, Syria. According to Cahida Dersim, a 70-year-old woman was wounded as result of the Turkish shelling on the village Kotan of district Bilbil. Her house has been destroyed. The weapon type is unknown. In a private report, KRC confirmed the…

Summary

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

6 February 2018

Incident Code

TS160

Location

جنديرس, Rajo, Afrin, Aleppo, Aleppo, Syria
In a private report, the Kurdish Red Crescent revealed two civilians as wounded followed an alleged Turkish shelling of Rajo, Syria. Both victims were reported as injured by shrapnel. The type of weapon is unknown. No further details are currently available.  

Summary

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

4 February 2018

Incident Code

TS155

Location

زيتونك, Zeitounka, Afrin, Aleppo, Aleppo, Syria
Local sources in Syria reported “the martyrdom of citizen Ahmed Horo, 77 years old, as a result of the Turkish bombardment of the village of Zeitounka in the countryside of Afrin.” Kurid Post provided detail on the event: “‘We were sitting in the house and a barrage of artillery shells fell unceasingly, causing panic and…

Summary

Published
4 February 2018
Civilians reported killed
1
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

4 February 2018

Incident Code

TS156

Location

جنديرس, Rajo, Afrin, Aleppo, Aleppo, Syria
In a private report, the Kurdish Red Crescent named three civilians who were injured following an alleged Turkish shelling of Rajo, Syria. The type of weapon is unknown. No additional details are presently known.

Summary

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

4 February 2018

Incident Code

TS157

Location

جنديرس, Jindires, Afrin, Aleppo, Aleppo, Syria
In a private report, the Kurdish Red Crescent listed two civilians, injured followed an alleged Turkish shelling of Jindires, Syria. The type of weapon is unknown. No additional details are presently known.

Summary

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

4 February 2018

Incident Code

TS158

Location

بلبلة, Bulbul, Afrin, Aleppo, Aleppo, Syria
In a private report, the Kurdish Red Crescent listed one civilian was wounded followed an alleged Turkish shelling of Bulbul, Syria. The type of weapon is unknown. No additional details are presently known.

Summary

Published
4 February 2018
Civilians reported injured
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 […]