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

23 January 2018

Incident Code

TS113

Location

الهلالية, Al Hilalya neighbourhood of Al Qamishi, Al Hassakah, Syria
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that “two children were injured due to the falling of the shells, following firing at the SDF from the Turkish side”. Syria News claimed the children were killed. Smart News reported that “a shell fired from the Turkish city of Nisibin fell on the neighbourhood, which resulted in…

Summary

Published
23 January 2018
Civilians reported killed
0–2
Civilians reported injured
2
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

23 January 2018

Incident Code

TS111

Location

جنديرس, Jindires, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
Up to seven civilians were killed and 49 named people were wounded in the reported Turkish bombing of Jindires in Afrin, according to local sources on the ground. Airwars was initially alerted to the casualty incident by the Afrin Now Facebook page, which detailed the reported casualties and some injured.  On its Facebook page, the…

Summary

Published
23 January 2018
Civilians reported killed
5–7
Civilians reported injured
49
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

22 January 2018

Incident Code

TS109

Location

تل سلور, Tal Slour, Jindires, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
Two to three civilians were allegedly killed in Turkish airstrikes on Tal Slour, Jindires, Afrin. They were named by Afrin Now and the Kurdish Red Crescent. Kurdi Post said that the strike came after midnight, and that Mrs Suleiman’s seven year old son was also killed, while a 10 year old girl was injured. However according…

Summary

Published
22 January 2018
Civilians reported killed
1–2
Civilians reported injured
2
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

22 January 2018

Incident Code

TS110

Location

شيا عفرين, Shya, Aleppo, Syria
The Kurdish Red Crescent reported that two civilian men and one woman were injured in the vicinity of Shya in Afrin canton. One report came in later on March 5th 2018 of a civilian female ages 65 who was killed. There are no other details present at this time.

Summary

Published
22 January 2018
Civilians reported killed
0–1
Civilians reported injured
3
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

22 January 2018

Incident Code

TS107

Location

راس العين, Kotana, Afrin, Al Hassakah, Syria
The Smart News Agency reported that “three wounded civilians arrived at Rouge Hospital in the city of Ras al-Ain (about 70 km northwest of the city of Hassaka), including a woman and a 14-year-old boy who were injured by the Turkish army targeting the grain silos area in the city of Ras al-Ain with two…

Summary

Published
22 January 2018
Civilians reported injured
3
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

22 January 2018

Incident Code

TS108

Location

راجو, Rajo district of Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
Two civilians died and up to 14 more were wounded in an alleged Turkish airstrike on the Rajo district of Afrin, according to sources on the ground. Two victims were named by The Kurdish Red Crescent. ANF also reported that a Turkish strike killed “a civilian and injured his mother and sister who were in…

Summary

Published
22 January 2018
Civilians reported killed
2
Civilians reported injured
9–14
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 […]