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

13 January 2018

Incident Code

TS094

Location

عفرين, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria
Two civilians were injured in an alleged Turkish artillery raid on Afrin. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that an alleged Turkish shelling on Afrin “injured two citizens. One of them is a child. Additionally, a fighter of YPG was killed in the shelling.” There are no reports of civilian casualties. RT and Bas…

Summary

Published
13 January 2018
Civilians reported injured
2
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

13 November 2017

Incident Code

TI011

Location

سيدكان, Barmiza village, Sidkan, Erbil, Iraq
One civilian was killed in alleged Turkish airstrikes on Barmiza village, Sidkan area, on November 13th, 2017, according to local sources. A local Kurdish outlet, Yaqein Agency, reported the day of the incident that one civilian was killed by alleged Turkish airstrikes on Sidkan, north of Erbil. In January 2019, Christian Peacemaker Teams Iraqi Kurdistan…

Summary

Published
13 November 2017
Strike Type
Airstrike
Civilians reported killed
1
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

20 September 2017

Incident Code

TI009

Location

شمال العراق, North of Iraq, Erbil, Iraq
Local media reported that the Turkish air force had bombed sites belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party in north Iraq - though there was no information available on civilian harm as a result of these actions. RT reported that "the Turkish army said on Thursday that the shelling hit targets in the mountainous regions of…

Summary

Published
20 September 2017
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

20 September 2017

Incident Code

TI010

Location

دهوك, Dohuk, Duhok, Iraq
The Kurdistan Regional Government said that seven civilians were killed by Turkish airstrikes on Dohuk village. Skyiraq reported: "The air strikes launched by the Turkish warplanes targeted areas in the province of Dohuk and killed seven civilians." The government said in a statement that while the citizens were going to do their work on their…

Summary

Published
20 September 2017
Civilians reported killed
7
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

4 September 2017

Incident Code

TI008

Location

نهيل, Nahil area of Al-Amadiya, Duhok, Iraq
A single source, Iraqi Spring Media, reported an alleged bombing by "the Turkish air force" of the Nahil area of the Al-Amadiyah district, north of Dohuk - though the source said that there was no information on civilian harm. No further details are currently available.

Summary

Published
4 September 2017
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

1 September 2017

Incident Code

TS093

Location

كفر لوسين, Kafr Luseen, Turkish-Syrian borders, Idlib, Syria
A single source, the Step News Agency, reported that "a child was wounded by bullets fired by the Turkish army is in the camp of Zahra_Gulf in the area of Kafr Luseen on the border with Turkey and was transferred to a nearby hospital." No further details are currently available.

Summary

Published
1 September 2017
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 […]