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

13 October 2019

Incident Code

TS338a

Location

Location unknown, Syria
According to the Kurdish Red Crescent, three civilians were injured as a result of Turkish military attacks on October 13th 2019. Location unknown yet but names of injured civilians are: Disher Arab, male, 20 years old Bashar Ahmad Ibrahim, male, 22 years old Muhammad Hussein Khalil, male, 55 years old  

Summary

Published
13 October 2019
Strike Type
Airstrike and/or Artillery
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

13 November 2019

Incident Code

TS336b

Location

الحسكة, Hasaka, Al Hassakah, Syria
Three civilians were reported injured in different locations in Hasaka governorate on October 13th, 2019 according to the Kurdish Red Crescent, as a result of alleged Turkish forces attacks. The civilians, a woman and two men, are originally from Terbesipiye, Til Kocher and Tel Hamees. No further details available at the moment.

Summary

Published
13 October 2019
Civilians reported injured
3
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

12 October 2019

Incident Code

TS334

Location

Tal Abyad, Raqqa, Syria
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that it had "documented the death of 3 civilians by the Turkish ground shelling that targeted Tal Abyad area". No further details are currently available.

Summary

Published
12 October 2019
Strike Type
Artillery
Civilians reported killed
3
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

12 October 2019

Incident Code

TS333

Location

طريق M4 جنوب تل أبيض, M4 Highway south of Tal Abyad, Al Hassakah, Syria
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported: "Members of the Turkey-loyal factions carried out a field execution of 6 new citizens by the fire of machine guns, after they took control of the highway to al-Hasakah city south of Tal Abyad for a short time, before they withdrew from it". No further details are currently…

Summary

Published
12 October 2019
Strike Type
Counter-Terrorism Action (Ground)
Civilians reported killed
6
Causes of Death / Injury
Small arms and light weapons
Military Actor
Turkish Military
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Incident Date

12 October 2019

Incident Code

TS332

Location

رأس العين, Ras Al Ain, Al Hassakah, Syria
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that it had "documented from Tal Tamr Hospital the civilian injuries including children as a result of the Turkish ground and aerial bombardment on Ras Al-Ayn area". According to the Kurdish Red Crescent list of civilians injured and killed between 9 and 13 October 2019, one of the…

Summary

Published
12 October 2019
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

12 October 2019

Incident Code

TS331

Location

الحوارنة, Hawarna , Al Hassakah, Syria
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published a video of an injured child. The video mentions that this girl was wounded after a strike hit her house. She mentions that her parents were in the house, although it is not clear if they were injured/killed in the attack. No further details are currently available.

Summary

Published
12 October 2019
Strike Type
Airstrike and/or Artillery
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 […]