A Bayraktar Akıncı combat drone. Source: the Turkish Ministry of National Defense.
Late on September 9, a Turkish combat drone carried out an airstrike on the strategic M4 highway in the northeastern region of Syria.
The drone strike hit the highway near the village of al-Tawillah, to the West of Tell Tamer town in the northern al-Hasakah countryside. The entire area is controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Material losses were reported after the strike. Nevertheless, there were no casualties and the movement on the M4 highway was not affected.
The M4 is the spine of transportation in northeastern Syria. The highway links al-Hasakah with Raqqa, then with Aleppo, the country’s industrial hub. From there, the highway continues up to the port city of Lattakia. Currently, the highway is blocked in several areas.
This was the first Turkish drone strike to target SDF-held areas in northern and northeastern Syria this month. Between July and August, more than a dozen strike targeted personnel and positions of the group.
Turkey has been threatening the SDF with a new operation for nearly three months now. The Turkish military and its proxies completed their preparations back in July. However, Ankara is yet to pull the trigger.
Faced with pressure from Russia, Iran and even the United States, Ankara appears to be very cautious about its military plans against the SDF.
