Turkish drone strike kills senior SDF leader in Syria’s Qamishli
Shafaq News/ A senior Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) leader was killed, on Monday, when a Turkish drone targeted his car on a road in the countryside of Qamishli, northeast of Al-Hasakah, Syria.
Media reports indicated that the Turkish drone struck a vehicle on Ali Farou Road near the Iron Factory on the M4 international highway in Qamishli’s countryside, killing the SDF commander, his bodyguard, and the car driver.
This attack brings the total number of Turkish drone strikes on areas controlled by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria in 2024 to 188, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
In a related development, SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi confirmed “rapid and unexpected” events in northwest Syria, with their forces enduring “intense attacks” from multiple directions.
On X, Abdi explained that “the collapse and withdrawal of the Syrian army and its allies forced the SDF to intervene and open a humanitarian corridor linking their areas in the east with Aleppo and Tel Rifaat, to protect civilians from massacres.”
“The corridor was attacked by armed groups backed by Turkish forces, leading to its closure, but the SDF defended it, protecting civilians in Aleppo, Tel Rifaat, and Shahba regions,” he added.
Regarding the Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo, Abdi confirmed that their forces continue to “resist and defend” the residents amid ongoing escalations.
Notably, Turkish attacks have killed 42 people and injured over 120, including 71 civilians, with six women and three children among the casualties. The deceased include 32 Autonomous Administration fighters, three Syrian army personnel, and seven civilians, including one woman.
The attacks, spread across multiple regions, were most concentrated in Al-Hasakah province (137), where three Syrian soldiers, 24 SDF fighters, and four civilians, including one woman, were killed. In Raqqa province, six attacks resulted in four military deaths, while 45 attacks in Aleppo’s countryside left four soldiers and three civilians dead.
