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

5 July 2023

Incident Code

TS609

Location

كوباني, Kobani, Aleppo, Syria
On the 5th July 2023, two ambulance crew members were reportedly injured by a Turkish artillery strike in southern Kobani, located in the North of Syria. 30 year-old Sozdar Othman and 25 year-old Muslim Nabi Oso were injured whilst traveling to the area of Newroz Square, which was hit by mortar shells, to evacuate possible…

Summary

Published
5 July 2023
Strike Type
Artillery
Civilians reported injured
2
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

4 July 2023

Incident Code

TS607

Location

تديل, Tadil, Aleppo, Syria
On 4 July 2023, a family of four, including a mother and two girls, were killed and another civilian was injured by an artillery strike in the village of Tadil in the town of Urm al-Kubra, which is located in the countryside of Aleppo. The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights released a statement that said…

Summary

Published
4 July 2023
Strike Type
Artillery
Civilians reported killed
4
Civilians reported injured
1
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

27 June 2023

Incident Code

TS606

Location

جورين, Jourin, Hama, Syria
Two civilians were injured by shelling allegedly carried out by the factions of the “Al-Fateh Al-Mubin” operations room, a Turkish sponsored militia, in Jourin in the Al-Ghab Plain region on June 27, 2023. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that two civilians were injured to varying degrees by shrapnel from rocket shells launched by…

Summary

Published
27 June 2023
Strike Type
Artillery
Civilians reported injured
2
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

20 June 2023

Incident Code

TS605

Location

قرية تل شعير, Tel Shaeir road, Al Hassakah, Syria
On Tuesday June 20th 2023, an alleged drone strike by Turkish armed forces hit a car in the village of Beyandur, east of the city of Qamishli, northeast Syria, killing three civilians, two Kurdish local officials and their driver, and injuring another local official. Sources including SOHR, NPA and Reuters reported three civilians being killed…

Summary

Published
20 June 2023
Strike Type
Airstrike (Drone Strike)
Civilians reported killed
3
Civilians reported injured
1
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

16 June 2023

Incident Code

TS604

Location

مشفى تل رفعت, Tal Rifaat Hospital, Aleppo, Syria
On 16 June 2023, Tal Rifaat Hospital in the northern countryside of Aleppo was allegedly struck by a Turkish artillery strike. The Health Authority in the area reported that four civilians were injured in the strike, including one of the medical staff who works in the hospital, while other sources referred to “members” of the…

Summary

Published
16 June 2023
Strike Type
Artillery
Infrastructure
Healthcare
Civilians reported injured
4
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

14 June 2023

Incident Code

TS602

Location

الدندنية, Al Dandaniyah, Aleppo, Syria
On 14 June 2023, two children were injured by an alleged Turkish artillery strike, followed by a drone strike, on a farm in Al-Dandaniyah village in Manbij, the western countryside east of Aleppo. One of the children who survived the strike, Muhammad Saeed, noted that the attack ‘directly bombed their whereabouts’ according to Hawar News.…

Summary

Published
14 June 2023
Strike Type
Airstrike (Drone Strike), Artillery
Infrastructure
Agriculture
Civilians reported injured
2
Military actors reported killed
4
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 […]