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
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Incident Date Publication Date ↓

Incident Date

16 August 2023

Incident Code

TS623

Location

راس العين, Ras Al Ayn, Al Hassakah, Syria
On the 16th of August, 2023, at least four civilians, including a child and a woman, were injured in an outbreak of violence between two reportedly Turkish backed armed factions in the Al Mahatta neighborhood of the city of Ras Al Ayn, in Syria’s Al Hasakah Governorate. The clashes allegedly began after raids carried out…

Summary

Published
16 August 2023
Strike Type
Artillery, Ground operation
Civilians reported injured
4–5
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

11 August 2023

Incident Code

TI094

Location

بنجوين, Penjwin district, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq
On August 11, 2023, three civilians, including at least one woman (who may have been under 18), were reportedly killed after being struck by a Turkish drone in the Penjwin district of Sulaymaniyah governorate. According to media coverage of this event, the victims were killed while driving towards the Iranian border. In its coverage of this…

Summary

Published
11 August 2023
Strike Type
Airstrike (Drone Strike)
Civilians reported killed
3
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

9 August 2023

Incident Code

TS622

Location

قرية ام الكيف, village of Um al-Kaif, Al Hassakah, Syria
At least one civilian was wounded by a mortar strike suspected to have been carried out by the Turkish armed forces on the village of Um al-Kaif in the Tal Tamr countryside on August 9, 2023. Hawar News reported that Daham Ahmed Muhammad, aged 26, was wounded by shrapnel and taken to Martyr Likrin Hospital…

Summary

Published
9 August 2023
Civilians reported injured
1–2
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

8 August 2023

Incident Code

TS621

Location

قرية الشركة, Al-Shirka village, Raqqa, Syria
On 8 August 2023, a woman and two children were killed, and three others, two children and their mother, all from the same family, were reportedly injured by Turkish shelling on their house in the village of Al-Shirka located in the eastern countryside of Ain Issa. According to ANF, 60 year-old grandmother Doza, 10 year…

Summary

Published
8 August 2023
Strike Type
Artillery
Civilians reported killed
3
Civilians reported injured
3
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

6 August 2023

Incident Code

TI093

Location

جمانكي, Jamanki area, Duhok, Iraq
On August 6th, 2023, an alleged Turkish airstrike or drone strike in Jamanki, Dohuk governorate struck a car and killed a civilian named Alain Ismail and seriously injured a civilian named Hashem Shaker. According to Altaakhi and Kurdistan 24 reports, Alain Ismail had been married five months before he tragically passed away. Further information about…

Summary

Published
6 August 2023
Strike Type
Airstrike (Drone Strike)
Civilians reported killed
1
Civilians reported injured
1
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

6 August 2023

Incident Code

TI092

Location

قرية جنارتوي, Gnartuy Village, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq
On August 6th, 2023, an alleged Turkish drone strike hit Gnartuy village in Suliemaniah province, Iraq; according to Shafaq News, the strike killed one civilian and injured another, while Alaraby and Roj News reported that the strike injured two civilians. Alaraby reported that one civilian was from Halabja and that another held Syrian Kurdish nationality, although…

Summary

Published
6 August 2023
Strike Type
Airstrike (Drone Strike)
Civilians reported killed
1
Civilians reported injured
1–2
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
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 […]