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

868 – 1,329

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 885 separate alleged incidents.

175 – 199
children likely killed
128 – 143
women likely killed
2,072
likely injured
1,864
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
1,598 – 2,302
Locally reported civilian deaths from Turkish Military actions in Iraq and Syria.
885 seperate alleged incidents
Confirmed or Fair
868 – 1,329
Civilian deaths for which the reporting was assessed by Airwars as Fair, or have been Confirmed by Turkish Military
646 seperate alleged incidents
Weak
116 – 134
Civilian deaths for which the reporting was assessed by Airwars as Weak.
159 seperate alleged incidents
Contested
313 – 538
Civilian deaths for which the reporting is assessed by Airwars as Contested.
78 seperate alleged incidents
Discounted
301
Civilian deaths were Discounted by Airwars after assessment.
2 seperate alleged incidents

Civilian Casualty Incidents — Turkish Military in Iraq & Syria

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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883 incidents
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Incident Date ↓ Publication Date

Incident Date

25 July 2015

Incident Code

TI001

Location

العمادية, Amadiyah, Duhok, Iraq
Three civilians were reportedly injured in alleged Turkish airstrikes on Amadiyah, Iraq. Iraqhurr reported intensive bombing on PKK positions in the area and said that it "led to the wounding of three civilians." Sputnik News also reported Turkish airstrikes in the area but did not mention civilian harm. No additional details are presently known regarding…

Summary

Published
25 July 2015
Civilians reported injured
3
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Research and Investigations

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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 […]
29 Jan, 2018
Update
Syria

Turkish assault on Syria’s Afrin imperils civilians

Several dozen civilians have already been killed in fierce fighting at Afrin - with fears of a heavier toll ahead.
29 Jan, 2018
Update

Reported civilian casualties from Turkish military actions in Iraq and Syria: 2018

New Airwars monitoring project tracks civilian harm from Turkish military actions - as well as reported casualties from Kurdish counterfire
24 Feb, 2017
Update
Syria

Hundreds of civilians killed in Turkish capture of al-Bab, as Ankara eyes Kurdish-held Manbij

UN says at least 300 civilians died in Turkey's battle for al-Bab - setting dangerous precedent for north Syria