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

23 July 2023

Incident Code

TS614

Location

قرية أبين/ بينه, village of Abyan/Bineh, Aleppo, Syria
On 23 July 2023, a female civilian was reportedly injured by Turkish artillery fire in the village of Abyan/Bineh in the Sherawa district. According to the Afrin Human Rights Organisation, 21-year old Kurdish woman Hevin Hamo Shrou from the village of Qibariyeh was injured by shrapnel in the foot as a result of artillery fire. Hevin…

Summary

Published
23 July 2023
Strike Type
Artillery
Infrastructure
IDP or Refugee Camp
Civilians reported injured
1
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

22 July 2023

Incident Code

TS613

Location

عزمارين, Azmarin, Idlib, Syria
On 22nd July 2023, two civilians were reportedly injured by gunfire from Turkish border forces on the Syrian-Turkish border near the village of Azmarin, Harem in Western Idlib. The North Press reported that both Manaf Azaddin and Yamen al-Sufarani were injured when attempting to cross the border, one in the morning and the other in…

Summary

Published
22 July 2023
Strike Type
Ground operation
Civilians reported injured
2
Causes of Death / Injury
Small arms and light weapons
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

16 July 2023

Incident Code

TS612

Location

قرية حسن اغا, Hasan Agha village, Aleppo, Syria
On 16th July 2023, a male civilian was reportedly injured by a Turkish drone strike on a car in the village of Hasan Agha, located to the south of the city of Manbij. 44 year-old Ahmed Al-Jassem was injured and taken to the nearest hospital for treatment and has subsequently been released. An initial Facebook…

Summary

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

Incident Date

15 July 2023

Incident Code

TS611

Location

بلدة حارم, Harem town, Idlib, Syria
A man was injured when he was allegedly shot by Turkish border guards near Harem town on July 15, 2023. North Press Agency reported that Turkish border guards shot and injured a 52 year old man named Riyad al-Kanou while he was checking on his land, which is adjacent to the Turkish border near the town…

Summary

Published
15 July 2023
Strike Type
Ground operation
Civilians reported injured
1
Causes of Death / Injury
Small arms and light weapons
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

9 July 2023

Incident Code

TS610

Location

جورين, Jurin, Hama, Syria
On 9th July 2023, up to three civilians were reportedly injured and a member of the regime forces were killed by an artillery strike allegedly carried out by the factions of the ‘Al-Fateh Al-Mubin’ operations room, a Turkish-based militia, in the town of Jurin, located in Sahl Al-Ghab in the western countryside of Hama. The…

Summary

Published
9 July 2023
Strike Type
Artillery
Civilians reported injured
1–3
Military actors reported killed
1
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

5 July 2023

Incident Code

TS608

Location

رأس العين, Ras al Ain, Al Hassakah, Syria
At around noon on the 5th July, 2023, two children were killed and up to seven others, including a woman and a child were injured in an alleged armed clash between two of the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions at the al-Qaws checkpoint at the entrance of the Turkish-occupied city of Ras al Ain in Hasakah.…

Summary

Published
5 July 2023
Strike Type
Ground operation
Civilians reported killed
2
Civilians reported injured
5–7
Military actors reported killed
1–3
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Small arms and light weapons
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 […]