On Saturday, June 24th 2017, at least 10 people were killed when a car bomb exploded in al-Dana, in Idlib province, Syria.
The attack targeted the town market and left a further 30 injured.
At least three of the dead were under 18.
Both rebel groups and ISIS have carried out IED attacks in the area. No one has so far claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack but a local opposition source is reported to have blamed ISIS for the bombing.
Last year, AOAV recorded 15,640 deaths and injuries in Syria from explosive violence – as recorded in English-language news media. Of these, 85% (13,313) were civilians.
When explosive violence was used in a populated area in Syria 97% of the casualties were civilian.
Whilst the majority of civilian deaths and injuries from explosive violence in Syria were caused by state explosive weapons (56% or 7,500 civilians), non-state actors were responsible for at least 41% (5,493) – for remainder the perpetrator status was unclear.
IEDs made up 14% of all civilian deaths and injuries from explosive violence in Syria in 2016.
Despite this, last year saw an increase in the number of deaths and injuries caused by IEDs, compared to the previous year, with a rise of 45%.
AOAV records casualties (i.e. people killed and injured) from explosive violence around the world as reported in English-language news sources. The data cannot capture the full scale of civilian suffering in Syria, but is indicative of the patterns of harm that exist when explosive weapons are used in populated areas.
AOAV condemns the use of violence against civilians and calls upon all groups to reject the deliberate targeting of civilians. States must urgently address the threat of IEDs. The international community should, more than ever, seek to address IED use and seek to implement effective preventative measures to decrease their harm.
For more on counter-IED initiatives, please see here. To read AOAV’s recent report, Understanding the rising cult of the suicide bomber, please see here.
Did you find this story interesting? Please support AOAV's work and donate.
Donate