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

18 February 2020

Incident Code

TS410

Location

مشرفة, Mishrefa, Raqqa, Syria
Three civilians were reported injured in alleged Turkish air or artillery strikes on the village of Mishrefa and Şergirat, Ain Issa, on February 18th, 2020, according to local sources. ANF reported that "at 19.30 local time, the villages of Mishrefa and Şergirat were targeted. In the attack with heavy weapons, the wheat warehouse was bombed…

Summary

Published
18 February 2020
Strike Type
Airstrike and/or Artillery
Civilians reported injured
3
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

15 February 2020

Incident Code

TS409

Location

باشمرة, Bashamra, Aleppo, Syria
A woman and two children were injured in alleged Turkish air and/or artillery strikes on the village of Bashamra, Sherawa district, Aleppo governorate, on February 15th, 2020, according to local sources. ANF English reported that Turkish forces launched an attack on the village, resulting into the injury of a woman named Sêvîn Nebu Qesab and her…

Summary

Published
15 February 2020
Strike Type
Airstrike and/or Artillery
Civilians reported injured
3
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

3 February 2020

Incident Code

TS408

Location

عقيبة, Aqiba, Aleppo, Syria
Local sources reported that Turkish forces targeted villages in Afrin including Aqiba village during the night, leading to the death of one elderly civilian, an the injury of other civilians including his daughter, on February 3rd, 2020. NPA Syria reported that "a Syrian civilian was killed and a woman was injured due to the Turkish…

Summary

Published
3 February 2020
Strike Type
Airstrike and/or Artillery
Civilians reported killed
1
Civilians reported injured
1–3
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

29 January 2020

Incident Code

TS407

Location

تل رفعت, Tell Rifaat, Aleppo, Syria
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that "a child was killed by artillery shelling of the Turkish Forces carried out from areas controlled by their loyal factions. The shelling targeted Tall Rifaat town within areas of deployment of the Kurdish forces north of Aleppo on January 29th, 2020." No further details are available at…

Summary

Published
29 January 2020
Strike Type
Artillery
Civilians reported killed
1
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

15 January 2020

Incident Code

TI032

Location

دوكوري, Dugure, Nineveh, Iraq
Between four and eleven people were killed and up to five people, including one civilian, were reported injured in an alleged Turkish strike on a YBS base in the town of Dugure, Sinjar governorate, on January 15th, 2020, according to local sources. Ekurd reported that Turkish warplanes had "bombed targets in the Dugure community in…

Summary

Published
15 January 2020
Strike Type
Airstrike
Civilians reported injured
1
Military actors reported killed
4–11
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

11 January 2020

Incident Code

TS406

Location

باشمرة, Bashmara, Aleppo, Syria
A woman was reportedly injured in Turkish artillery strikes on the village of Bashmara, Aleppo governorate, on January 11th, 2020, according to ANF News. Two soldiers of the Syrian regime were killed. North Press Agency Syria reported that "the Turkish forces and their affiliated armed opposition groups bombed with about 15 shells on Saturday morning…

Summary

Published
11 January 2020
Strike Type
Artillery
Civilians reported injured
1
Military actors reported killed
2
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 […]