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

17 June 2022

Incident Code

TI084

Location

كيسته, Kesta, Duhok, Iraq
Two women were injured in alleged Turkish artillery shelling and/or heavy machine gun fire on Kesta village in Kani Massi district on June 17, 2022 Shafaq News reported that Turkish forces launched artillery against Kesta Village, north of Duhok, which resulted in the injury of two women. Omed Kestayi, chieftain (mukhtar) of Kesta village in…

Summary

Published
17 June 2022
Strike Type
Artillery, Ground operation
Civilians reported injured
2
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Small arms and light weapons
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

17 June 2022

Incident Code

TI083

Location

كلار, Kalar, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq
Four people were killed and one was injured in alleged Turkish drone strikes on the town of Kalar on June 17, 2022. Conflicting reporting was given as to whether all of those killed and injured were members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) or whether at least one of the people killed, Hussein Shibli, was…

Summary

Published
17 June 2022
Strike Type
Airstrike (Drone Strike)
Military actors reported killed
5
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

15 June 2022

Incident Code

TI082

Location

برخ, Parakh, Duhok, Iraq
At least two civilians were injured in alleged Turkish shelling of Parak in Duhok’s Zakho district on June 15, 2022. According to Nalia Media Corporation, two people were wounded when Turkish forces bombarded Parakh in Duhok’s Zakho district. The reporter Wahid Sindi said that the two victims are a father and son who were working…

Summary

Published
15 June 2022
Strike Type
Airstrike and/or Artillery
Civilians reported injured
2
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

15 June 2022

Incident Code

TI081

Location

سنونو, Sunin, Sinjar, Nineveh, Iraq
Between one to five civilians were reportedly killed, and three to ten were injured in Sunin, Sinjar, Iraq, as a result of an attack by a Turkish drone on June 15th 2022.  Up to six militants were also reported killed in this attack. One child, Salah Shifan Khader Nassou, aged 11 or 12, was reported…

Summary

Published
15 June 2022
Strike Type
Airstrike
Civilians reported killed
1–5
Civilians reported injured
3–10
Military actors reported killed
6
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

9 June 2022

Incident Code

TS518

Location

ميسلون, Maysaloun neighborhood, Al Hassakah, Syria
Between one and five civilians were injured in alleged Turkish drone strikes on Maysaloun neighborhood in Qamishli on June 9, 2022. A local source told North Press that "at about 10 a.m, a 'Turkish' drone attacked a location near a local market in Maysaloon neighborhood in the city of Qamishli," resulting in an injury to…

Summary

Published
9 June 2022
Strike Type
Airstrike (Drone Strike)
Civilians reported injured
1–5
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

7 June 2022

Incident Code

TS517

Location

ابين, Abin, Aleppo, Syria
At least one civilian, a woman, was injured in alleged Turkish shelling of the village of Abin on June 7, 2022. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a woman who was displaced from Afrin was injured when Turkish forces fired over 15 heavy artillery shells at Abin village, in addition to the damage…

Summary

Published
7 June 2022
Strike Type
Artillery
Civilians reported injured
1
Causes of Death / Injury
Electromagnetic 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 […]