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

1,011 – 1,495

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 981 separate alleged incidents.

215 – 242
children likely killed
150 – 170
women likely killed
2,439
likely injured
2,231
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
1,754 – 2,486
Locally reported civilian deaths from Turkish Military actions in Iraq and Syria.
981 seperate alleged incidents
Confirmed or Fair
1,011 – 1,495
Civilian deaths for which the reporting was assessed by Airwars as Fair, or have been Confirmed by Turkish Military
732 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
970 incidents
Order results by:
Incident Date ↓ Publication Date

Incident Date

3 January 2016

Incident Code

TS038

Location

الباب, Al Bab, Aleppo, Syria
According to local sources, 11 civilians were killed and 26 injured in an alleged Turkish airstrike on Al Bab, Syria. Al Jazeera posted on Twitter that "11 people were killed and 26 wounded and an ambulance destroyed after Turkish bombardment of the city of Bab in the countryside of eastern Aleppo." Al Bab Al Hadath…

Summary

Published
3 January 2017
Civilians reported killed
11
Civilians reported injured
26
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

11 September 2015

Incident Code

TI003

Location

قنديل, اقشين, الزاب, Qandil, Avashin and Zap, Nineveh, Iraq
Turkish air forces bombed positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, the army said in a statement. Airstrikes hit mountainous areas in northern Iraq, including Qandil, Avashin and Zap. Turkish authorities said their strikes hit locations of the PKK rebels. However, Kurdish sources in northern Iraq reported via a single source that…

Summary

Published
11 September 2015
Civilians reported killed
2–3
Civilians reported injured
2–3
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

1 August 2015

Incident Code

TI002

Location

زرجيلي, Zergele, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq
Multiple Turkish airstrikes reportedly killed eight or more residents and injured at least eight others – including a child - in an attack on the village of Zergele in the Kandil Mountains. Alusmaria reported: "Turkish planes today bombed the village of Zergele north of the border, killing eight civilians, wounding ten others and destroying seven…

Summary

Published
1 August 2015
Civilians reported killed
8–10
Civilians reported injured
8–11
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

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
View Incident →

Research and Investigations

View all →
193407
17 May, 2023
Visualisation
Iraq

Reported civilian deaths from Turkish Military strikes in Iraq

Database tracks casualties in Iraq during Turkish strikes
85058
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 […]
81680
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.
73786
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 […]
62551
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 […]
59644
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 […]