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

12 December 2016

Incident Codes

CS413 TS020

Location

الباب, Al-Bab, Aleppo, Syria
Twelve civilians were killed and up to 30 injured at al Bab in what local sources claimed was a ‘Coalition’ strike, but which may have been a result of Turkish-ISIS fighting. Al A'maq, ISIS’s media wing, reported “12 dead and 30 injured, most of them women and children, following violent Turkish shelling with more than…

Summary

Published
12 December 2016
Civilians reported killed
12
Civilians reported injured
20–30
Military Actor
Turkish Military, U.S.-led Coalition
View Incident →

Incident Date

9 December 2016

Incident Codes

CS410 TS019

Location

الباب, Al-Bab, Aleppo, Syria
At least thirteen civilians were reported killed and eight injured in either a Turkish or Coalition airstrike on al Bab. The Coalition later denied responsibility. Al Jazeera – citing ISIS – said two families were among 13 dead civilians after multiple “Turkish airstrikes” on the city. The Syrian Observatory said that “no less than 12…

Summary

Published
9 December 2016
Civilians reported killed
13–20
Civilians reported injured
12
Military Actor
Turkish Military, U.S.-led Coalition
View Incident →

Incident Date

6 December 2016

Incident Codes

CS405 TS018

Location

البزاعة, Al Baza'a, Aleppo, Syria
Multiple sources blamed the US-led Coalition for the deaths of a woman and her seven children at al Baza’a, north east of al Bab. However the Coalition later assessed the claims as ‘Not credible.’ Given Turkey'sd own campaign at the time at Al-Bab, its aircraft may therefore have been responsible. According to Step News “Coalition…

Summary

Published
6 December 2016
Civilians reported killed
8
Civilians reported injured
22
Military Actor
Turkish Military, U.S.-led Coalition
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Incident Date

1 December 2016

Incident Code

TS017

Location

بزاعة, Al Baraziya village, Aleppo, Syria
Syria News Desk reported that a child was killed and other members of their family injured in a Turkish artillery strike on Al Baraziya. According to the local agency: "A child was killed and four other civilians were wounded, all of them from one family, this afternoon, by Turkish artillery targeting Al Baraziya village east…

Summary

Published
1 December 2016
Civilians reported killed
1
Civilians reported injured
4
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

27 November 2016

Incident Code

TS016

Location

تادف, Tadif, Aleppo, Syria
Between one and five civilians were reportedly killed in a Turkish or Syrian regime artillery strike on Tadif outside Al Bab. Nabd Syria reported: "Five civilians were killed and others injured by the artillery shelling of the Assad forces in Tadif in the eastern countryside of Aleppo." The ISIS propaganda outlet Al A'amaq published a…

Summary

Published
27 November 2016
Civilians reported killed
1–5
Civilians reported injured
5
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

27 November 2016

Incident Code

RS1712

Location

الزهراء, Al Zahra village, Aleppo, Syria
On November 27, 2016, according to the Shaam News Network amongst other local sources, two people were reportedly killed and dozens wounded when an aerial bombing resulted in "several successive explosions" hitting a residential area the town of Zahra, located in the northern countryside of Aleppo, in northwestern Syria. Where sources identified a belligerent, most…

Summary

Published
27 November 2016
Strike Type
Airstrike
Civilians reported killed
2
Civilians reported injured
2–12
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Russian Military, 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 […]