The Civilian Harm Watchdog

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.

Image: An internally displaced Kurdish family in northern Iraq, 2016 (Maranie R. Staab)

Turkish Military in Iraq & Syria

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▴ An internally displaced Kurdish family in northern Iraq, 2016 (Maranie R. Staab)

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

Start Date

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End Date

Strike Type

Causes of Death / Injury

Strike Status

Civilian Harm Status

Belligerent Assessment

Casualty

Infrastructure

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969 incidents

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Incident Date

Incident Code

Location

عفرين, Afrin, Aleppo, Syria

Between six and 10 civilians including one or more child were wounded in an alleged Turkish shelling on Afrin, according to local media. Rudaw said that "Rizan Haddu, a political writer, told them that the initial result of the shelling that targeted the neighborhoods of Afrin injured six civilians to varying degrees". Yekiti reported the…

Summary

Civilians reported injured

Turkish Military

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Incident Date

Incident Code

Location

ام حوش, Um Hawsh village, Aleppo, Syria

Two men were wounded in an alleged Turkish shelling of the village of Umm Hawsh in Aleppo, local media reported. According to SDF Press, "Ahmed Hussein Hamdoun, aged 20, and Mu'taz al-Hussein, aged 15, were wounded in various parts of their bodies by shrapnel from the shells that fell near them while they were traveling from…

Summary

Civilians reported injured

Turkish Military

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Incident Date

Incident Code

Location

تل رفعت, Tal Ref’at, Aleppo, Syria

One civilian died and four more were wounded in alleged Turkish shelling of the town of Tal Ref’at, according to local media - though one report also said that the Syrian Free Army also targeted Kurdish units in the town. Rumaf named Alia Omar Sheikh and Othman Zakaria Mustafa as killed. However, a later report by Rumaf…

Summary

Civilians reported killed

Civilians reported injured

Turkish Military

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Incident Code

Location

قنديل, افشين, الزاب, Zakho district, Duhok, Iraq

Local Kurdish media said that four civilians were injured by alleged Turkish artillery shelling in Zakho at the Iraqi-Turkish border. Asda News reported that "the shelling led to the injury of four civilians, who were taken to the hospital for treatment, noting that the health of the four injured people is stable." Rudaw added that…

Summary

Civilians reported injured

Turkish Military

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Incident Date

Incident Code

Location

تل رفعت كفر ناصح, The area between Tal Rifa’at and Kafr Nasseh, Aleppo, Syria

Local media reported the death of between two and four civilians and injury of as many as dozens more in an alleged Turkish artillery bombardment in area between Tal Rifa’at and Kafr Nasseh, Syria. According to Rumaf, "four people from one family died and dozens more were injured in the area between Tel Rifaat and Kafr…

Summary

Civilians reported killed

Civilians reported injured

Turkish Military

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Incident Date

Incident Code

Location

أحرص, Ihress, Aleppo, Syria

According to Rumaf, "a whole family was seriously injured by the indiscriminate Turkish shelling of the residents of Ihress village. They were also transferred to the hospital." YPG Press reported: "The Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries also attacked the liberated villages in al-Shahba areas. Names of the villages are Tal Rifat, Harbal, Sheikh Issa,…

Summary

Civilians reported injured

Turkish Military

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Research and Investigations

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Reported civilian deaths from Turkish Military strikes in Iraq

Database tracks casualties in Iraq during Turkish strikes

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 […]

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.

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]