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

20 December 2016

Incident Code

TS027

Location

الباب, Al Bab, Aleppo, Syria
One civilian was reportedly killed in Turkish artillery shelling on Al Bab, Syria. The Syrian Obsevatory of Human Rights reported: "A person was killed and others were wounded in shelling by the Turkish forces and the Euphrates Shield on areas in al Bab city, which is under the control of the 'Islamic State' in the…

Summary

Published
20 December 2016
Civilians reported killed
1
Civilians reported injured
2–5
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

17 December 2016

Incident Codes

CS417 TS025

Location

الباب, Al-Bab, Aleppo, Syria
Three unnamed civilian males were reported killed in a Turkish (or less likely Coalition) action at al Bab. The Coalition later denied responsibility. According to Step News, “Turkish planes targeted al Bab, east of Aleppo, with three raids and there are news about casualties.” VDC later reported three unidentfied male civilian deaths – though said…

Summary

Published
17 December 2016
Civilians reported killed
3
Military Actor
Turkish Military, U.S.-led Coalition
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Incident Date

17–19 December, 2016

Incident Code

TS026

Location

الباب, Al Bab, Aleppo, Syria
The ISIS propaganda outlet Al A'amaq reported that 22 civilians were killed and 53 injured as a result of Turkish artillery shelling and airstrike in Al Bab, Syria. It wrote: "22 dead and 53 injured among the residents of Al Bab who fell over the last two days following Turkish artillery and aerial bombardment." There…

Summary

Published
17 December 2016
Civilians reported killed
22
Civilians reported injured
53
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

16 December 2016

Incident Codes

CS416 TS024

Location

الباب, Al-Bab, Aleppo, Syria
Between eleven and 15 civilians were reported killed in a Turkish (or less likely Coalition) action at al Bab. According to LCCSY eleven civilians died, “most of them killed in Coalition raids on al Bab.”However, the source had consistently denied civilian harm from Turkish actions during the al-Bab campaign. Al Bab News reported “more than…

Summary

Published
16 December 2016
Civilians reported killed
11–15
Civilians reported injured
12–24
Military Actor
Turkish Military, U.S.-led Coalition
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Incident Date

15 December 2016

Incident Code

TS023

Location

الباب, Al Bab, Aleppo, Syria
The ISIS-affiliated media propaganda outlet Al A'amaq reported one civilian dead and others injured as a result of a Turkish bombardment of Al Bab. It wrote: "One person killed and eight injured following Turkish bombardment targeting al Bab in the Aleppo countryside this afternoon." There are no other known details at this time.

Summary

Published
15 December 2016
Civilians reported killed
1
Civilians reported injured
8
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

14 December 2016

Incident Code

TS022

Location

الباب, Al Bab, Aleppo, Syria
Several sources reported the targeting of civilian infrastructure by Turkish warplanes in Al Bab, Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights wrote: "Turkish warplanes targeted the national hospital in the city of Bab in the north-eastern Aleppo countryside with several strikes, which is controlled by the Islamic State. No information about casualties so far." Khaled…

Summary

Published
14 December 2016
Civilians reported killed
0–2
Civilians reported injured
0–2
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 […]