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

10–13 October, 2019

Incident Code

TS339a

Location

منبج‎ / عين العرب‎ / كوباني‎, M4 Highway, between Manbij and Kobani, Al Hassakah, Syria
Kurdish civilians were summarily executed by Turkish forces on the M4 highway in north east Syria, according to local media. Video shared by @zana_med on twitter shows Turkey-backed militants near bodies of two civilians that they executed earlier on the M4 highway in Hassakah governroate.  The date of the summary execution is not known but…

Summary

Published
13 October 2019
Civilians reported killed
2
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

13 October 2019

Incident Code

TS338

Location

عين العرب, Kobane, Aleppo, Syria
Two civilians were reported injured in an alleged Turkish bombing on Kobane. ANHA reported: "Two civilians were injured due to the bombardment of the invading Turkish army against Kobanê. The invading Turkish army continues to bomb civilian settlements. In the bombing of Turkish soldiers in Kobanê, Cemîl Ehmed Ehmed (65) and Rûhilat Yildiz (20) were…

Summary

Published
13 October 2019
Strike Type
Airstrike
Civilians reported injured
2
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

13 October 2019

Incident Code

TS336

Location

Al Asadiye, Al Hassakah, Syria
Medical personnel were reported dead and wounded in an alleged Turkish shelling attack on a vehicle carrying doctors in vicinity of Al Asadiya village, Al Hasaka governorate. According to @dersi4m, the vehicle was traveling from Tal Tamir to Serêkaniyê. @ameddicleT reported that the medical staff was on their way to treat civilians who were wounded in…

Summary

Published
13 October 2019
Strike Type
Airstrike and/or Artillery
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

13 October 2019

Incident Code

TS337

Location

Tal Baidar, Al Hassakah, Syria
Several civilians were reported injured following an alleged Turkish airstrike on Tal Baidar. ANHA reported: "Several civilians were wounded by Turkish air raids on the village of Tal Baidar. Turkish warplanes bombarded the village of Tal Baidar located on the road to Darbasiyah - Sri Canet, injuring a number of civilians." Yeni Özgür Politika published…

Summary

Published
13 October 2019
Strike Type
Airstrike
Civilians reported injured
2
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

13 October 2019

Incident Code

TS336a

Location

تل أبيض, Tal Abyad, Raqqa, Syria
Two health workers were reported injured as a result of an alleged Turkish forces attack on Tal Abyad in Raqqa governorate in Syria, on October 13th, 2019, according to the Kurdish Red Crescent. No further details are currently available.

Summary

Published
13 October 2019
Civilians reported injured
2
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

13 October 2019

Incident Code

TS335

Location

رأس العين ,الجامع الكبير, Next to Al Jamia Al Kabir in Ras Al Ayn, Al Hassakah, Syria
In a major civilian harm incident, between 6 and 19 civilians - including at least four journalists from multiple countries - died and as many as 74 others were wounded in an alleged Turkish airstrike on a convoy, made up from around 400 civilian vehicles, heading from Al Jazira to Ras Al Ain, local media…

Summary

Published
13 October 2019
Strike Type
Airstrike
Civilians reported killed
7–19
Civilians reported injured
56–75
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
View Incident →

Research and Investigations

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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 […]