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 October 2019

Incident Code

TS348

Location

رفح, Rafha, Al Hassakah, Syria
"Many" civilians died and "more than 50" were wounded in alleged Turkish artillery strikes on Rafha village, local media said. According to @ HiwaDilan_71, "Groups of gangs affiliated with the occupying Turkish state bombed a village inhabited by Arab citizens in Girê Spî. Many civilians have died, including more than 50 people hospitalized, including women,…

Summary

Published
16 October 2019
Strike Type
Artillery
Civilians reported killed
5–10
Civilians reported injured
50
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

16 October 2019

Incident Code

TS347

Location

رأس العين, Ras Al Ain, Al Hassakah, Syria
"Many" civilians were killed and wounded in alleged Turkish air, artillery and  phosphorus attacks on Ras al-Ain, according to local media. TEV-DEM Executive Board Member Aldar Xelîl said that banned weapons containing phosphorus and napalm were used by the Turkish state today in Serêkaniy. Hawarnews added: The attack killed a number of civilians remaining in…

Summary

Published
16 October 2019
Strike Type
Airstrike and/or Artillery
Civilians reported killed
2–5
Civilians reported injured
5–10
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN)
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

16 October 2019

Incident Code

TS346

Location

ريحانية, Rihaniya, Al Hassakah, Syria
Between three and five civilians - of whom three were women - were wounded in an alleged Turkish attack on Rihaniya village, according to local media. Hawarnews reported that "two women and an elderly man, all from the village of Rihaniya" were wounded in alleged Turkish shelling of Rihaniya village. However, several other sources said…

Summary

Published
16 October 2019
Strike Type
Airstrike and/or Artillery
Civilians reported injured
3–5
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

16 October 2019

Incident Code

TS345

Location

الرافع, Al Rafi, Raqqa, Syria
One civilian died and four others were wounded in alleged Turkish shelling of al Rafi, Ayn Issa, according to local media. Hawarnews reported: "A civilian who lost his life during the attacks in Al-Rafi and wounded reached Reqa Hospital. It was learned that the civilian martyr was 35-year-old Ahmad al-Abdo. Abdo is married and has…

Summary

Published
16 October 2019
Civilians reported killed
1
Civilians reported injured
4
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

16 October 2019

Incident Code

TS344

Location

العريف بين Çelebeyi وعين عيسى, Al Arif, between Celebeyi and Ayn Issa, Raqqa, Syria
Ten civilians died and others were wounded in alleged Turkish shelling of Al Araf, between Celebeyi and Ayn Issa, local media reported. #ANF noted: "Turkish troops and mercenaries carried out aggression against the village of al-Aref located between Kobanê’s Çelebeyi town and Ayn Issa. There are reports that many civilians lost their lives in the…

Summary

Published
16 October 2019
Strike Type
Artillery
Civilians reported killed
10
Civilians reported injured
2
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Incident Date

16 October 2019

Incident Code

TS350a

Location

المالحة, Al Malha, Al Hassakah, Syria
@NPA_English tweeted: "A civilian woman from al-Malha village in the southern countryside of Ras al-Ain (Sere Kaniye) has arrived at Tal Tamr Hospital due to being shot by Turkey-backed armed militias". The Kurdish Red Crescent named the victim as Lamees Ali Assaf, a female aged 14 from Serekaniye", adding that she was shot.

Summary

Published
16 October 2019
Strike Type
Counter-Terrorism Action (Ground)
Civilians reported injured
1
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 […]