File image.
Early on April 24, a Turkish combat drone targeted a position of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo, which is controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The position in question is located in the border village of Zur Mughar, to the west of the town of Kobane which is a known stronghold of the SDF.
The drone strike didn’t result in any casualties. However, Syrian opposition sources claimed that the strike destroyed a battle tank of the SAA. These claims have not been verified yet.
The SAA established a network of positions in SDF-held areas in northeastern Syria in the wake of the Turkish invasion of 2019. The Russian Military Police also began to operate in these areas to monitor a Russian-Turkish de-escalation agreement.
This was the fourth Turkish drone strike to target northeastern Syria in less than a week. The three previous strikes hit two positions and a vehicle of the SDF in the northern al-Hasakah countryside and the northeastern countryside of Aleppo. Several fighters of the group were killed or wounded.
Turkey’s recent attacks on the SDF led to a serious military escalation. On April 22, the SDF responded to these attacks with a series of strikes on Turkish-occupied areas in the northern Aleppo countryside. The strikes claimed the life of a Turkish police men and wounded several others. Turkey hit back by launching a special operation against the SDF.
The SAA didn’t intervene in the recent clashes between Turkish forces and the SDF. This will likely change after the drone strike on Zur Mughar. The army may respond to the strike in the upcoming few days.
