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.
Image:
An internally displaced Kurdish family in northern Iraq, 2016 (Maranie R. Staab)
Airwars estimate of civilian deaths
1,015 – 1,499
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 985 separate alleged incidents.
215 – 242
children likely killed
151 – 171
women likely killed
2,443 – 3,355
likely injured
2,237
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
1,768 – 2,508
Locally reported civilian deaths from Turkish Military actions in Iraq and Syria.
985 separate alleged incidents
Confirmed or Fair
1,015 – 1,499
Civilian deaths for which the reporting was assessed by Airwars as Fair, or have been Confirmed by Turkish Military.
734 separate alleged incidents
Weak
119 – 137
Civilian deaths for which the reporting was assessed by Airwars as Weak.
166 separate alleged incidents
Contested
333 – 571
Civilian deaths for which the reporting is assessed by Airwars as Contested.
83 separate alleged incidents
Discounted
301
Civilian deaths were Discounted by Airwars after assessment.
2 separate alleged incidents
1,017 incidents
Incident Date
26 January 2026
Incident Code
TS798
Location
village of Khirab Ashk in the Kobani countryside, Aleppo, Syria
قرية خراب عشك بريف
On Monday, January 26, 2026, a drone strike with contested responsibility allegedly perpetrated by the Turkish military or Syrian interim government forces, hit a residential home in Kharab Ashk in the Kobani countryside of Syria, killing at least five civilians, including four children, and injuring between five and seven others, including four children, according to …
Summary
Published
7 May 2026
Strike Type
Drone Strike, Airstrike
Infrastructure
Residential
Civilians reported killed
5 – 8
Civilians reported injured
5 – 7
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Actor
Syrian Transitional Government Forces, Turkish Military
Incident Date
28 November 2025
Incident Code
ISSY087
Location
Beit Jinn, Damascus countryside, Syria, Syria
بيت جن
Summary
Published
7 May 2026
Actor
Israeli Military, Turkish Military
Incident Date
26 August 2025
Incident Code
ISSY085
Location
Syria
Summary
Published
7 May 2026
Actor
Turkish Military
Incident Date
16 July 2025
Incident Code
ISSY084
Location
Syria
Summary
Published
7 May 2026
Actor
Turkish Military
Incident Date
16 July 2025
Incident Code
ISSY083
Location
Syria
Summary
Published
7 May 2026
Actor
Turkish Military
Incident Date
26 June 2025
Incident Code
IRIS250616b
Location
The Bazan Group oil refinery complex, HaHistadrut Ave, Haifa, Haifa, Syria
שדרות ההסתדרות, חיפה, حيفا
Three Bazan oil refinery employees were reportedly killed, and a number of employees were injured after an alleged Iranian missile struck the oil refinery located in Haifa bay, Israel, shortly after 4 a.m. on June 16, 2025. The cause of death for all three men was suffocation, as well as the extreme heat from the …
Summary
Published
7 May 2026
Strike Type
Artillery
Infrastructure
Resources, Oil Facility
Civilians reported killed
3
Civilians reported injured
2
Causes of Death / Injury
Denial of access to/destruction of objects indispensable to survival, Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Actor
Iranian Military, Turkish Military
17 May, 2023
Visualisation
Iraq
Reported civilian deaths from Turkish Military strikes in Iraq
Database tracks casualties in Iraq during Turkish strikes
6 Sept, 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, …