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

21 January 2018

Incident Code

TS100

Location

عنابكة, poultry farm at A'nabka, Aleppo, Syria
At least 11 civilians, mostly children from several families, died in alleged Turkish airstrikes on a poultry farm at A’nabka, according to local media. Afrin Now, Al Watan and Syria Steps all blamed Turkey. Afrin Now first placed the location of the strikes at Abeen, though later changed this to A’nabka – informing Airwars that…

Summary

Published
21 January 2018
Civilians reported killed
11–24
Civilians reported injured
11–24
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

21 January 2018

Incident Code

TS099

Location

عداما, A'dama, Aleppo, Syria
Two civilians were killed and four others were wounded in an alleged Turkish shelling of A’dama village in the Afrin countryside, according to local media. The Kurdish Red Crescent reported that two civilians were killed and five people injured in the vicinity of Rajo in Afrin canton.

Summary

Published
21 January 2018
Civilians reported killed
2
Civilians reported injured
4
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

20 January 2018

Incident Code

TS096

Location

تمادا, Tarnada villlage, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
The Smart News Agency reported “the injury of 11 people, including two children, between the Al Ashrafieh neighbourhood and Tarnada village” in an alleged Turkish bombing. No further details or known sources are currently available.  

Summary

Published
20 January 2018
Civilians reported injured
11
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

20 January 2018

Incident Code

TS097

Location

الجزيرة, Al Jazeera district, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
In an undated event prior to January 26th, the Manbij Military Council reported that, “in the province al Jazira, Turkey used tanks, guns and mortars to shell residential neighborhoods, where nine different shells were documented, resulting in the death of three civilians and one injury.” No additional details are presently known.

Summary

Published
20 January 2018
Civilians reported killed
0–3
Civilians reported injured
1
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

20 January 2018

Incident Code

TS098

Location

شيا عفرين, Shya, Aleppo, Syria
Afrin Now reported that “the Turkish army, based in the city of Izzaz, bombed the villages of Belonya, Malikya, Villat Qadi and Barada, resulting in the wounding of workers with light injuries.” In a related event, the Red Crescent reported that a 45 year old civilian male it named as Ibrahem Khalil Muhammad was injured…

Summary

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

20 January 2018

Incident Code

TS095

Location

عفرين, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
Up to six civilians were reported killed and possibly dozens more wounded in alleged air and artillery strikes by Turkish-backed troops on YPG forces in Afrin, according to local media on the ground. Al Jazeera reported that “Turkish artillery shelled the positions of the Kurdish People’s Protection and Protection Units in several areas of Afrin.…

Summary

Published
20 January 2018
Civilians reported killed
3–6
Civilians reported injured
9–24
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 […]