Shafaq News – Damascus

Fresh tensions erupted in eastern Raqqa after midnight clashes between Syrian government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Maadan area, with both sides issuing conflicting accounts of what happened.

Syria’s Defense Ministry told SANA that SDF fighters launched a coordinated assault on army positions following “intense preparatory fire,” briefly seizing several points. The ministry said two soldiers were killed and others wounded before government troops mounted a counterattack and retook the positions, accusing the SDF of “repeated aggression.”

The SDF rejected Damascus’ account, saying its forces were responding to ISIS activity in the Ghanem al-Ali desert east of Raqqa, where militants had used nearby sites to launch armed drones toward SDF positions. The group said it had documented “in audio and video” ISIS operatives using those locations.

SDF commanders accused pro-government factions of “coordinating with ISIS” in recent attacks, claiming that militants had launched operations from areas adjacent to Syrian army positions. Damascus has not responded to the allegation.

Yesterday, the SDF reported shooting down two ISIS drones it said were launched from areas held by Syrian government forces near the village of Ghanem al-Ali.