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

28 January 2018

Incident Code

TS134

Location

بلبلة, Bulbula, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
The Military Council for Manbij [SDF] reported that a “Turkish aircraft targeted Bulbula this morning which resulted in the death and injury of civilians in the town”. Kobanidil also reported that an unspecified number of civilians were killed and wounded in the attack. Afrin Now named a 60 year old male victim, however The Kurdish…

Summary

Published
28 January 2018
Civilians reported killed
2
Civilians reported injured
2
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

28 January 2018

Incident Code

TS135

Location

كوبلة, Kobla village, Aleppo, Syria
Between fourteen and seventeen named civilians from one family died in alleged Turkish airstrike on Kobla village, according to local media. A further seven or more people were injured. Afrin Now published a very graphic video depicting “cruel scenes of the victims of the massacre of the village of Kobla in the countryside of Afrin,…

Summary

Published
28 January 2018
Civilians reported killed
14–17
Civilians reported injured
7–25
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

28 January 2018

Incident Code

TS136

Location

ميدان اكبس, Midan Ikbiss, Aleppo, Syria
Afrin Now reported “the martyrdom of the civilian A’ref Sheikh Ismail Zadeh after being sniped by the Turkish army in the village of Midan Ikbiss in the countryside of Afrin.” No further details are currently available.

Summary

Published
28 January 2018
Civilians reported killed
1
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

28 January 2018

Incident Code

TS137

Location

راحو, Rajo, Aleppo, Syria
The Kurdish Red Crescent reported that six civilian males were injured – some seriously – in the Rajo area of Afrin Canton. In a report seen by Airwars six civilians were named as injured - see list below. Ta3oob_11 reported that “Turkish aircraft heavily bombarded civilian homes in the areas of Raju and Jenders, resulting…

Summary

Published
28 January 2018
Civilians reported injured
6
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

27 January 2018

Incident Code

TS132

Location

Unknown, Syria
Free Afrin published a picture of a dead man, reporting that “this image is the result of the bombing of the Turkish occupation”. However, an image search showed this photo was first published on the Syrian Media Organisation on a November Facebook post [archived] on November 27th 2017. Airwars has therefore discounted the event as…

Summary

Published
27 January 2018
Civilians reported killed
1
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

27 January 2018

Incident Code

TS130

Location

جنديرس, Jindires, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
The Kurdish Red Crescent reported that nine civilians were injured in the Jinderes area of Afrin Canton. In a report shared with Airwars, nine injured civilians were named - listed below. The source Rodi Sad reported that a Turkish warplane struck a mosque in Jinderes. It published images showing destruction of the building but made…

Summary

Published
27 January 2018
Civilians reported injured
9
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 […]