File image.
On May 11, a Turkish member of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was killed as a result of two Turkish drone strikes on the northeastern Syrian town of Kobane.
The first strike targeted a vehicle that was moving on a road linking Kobane with the city of Aleppo, while the second one hit a house in the center of the town. Kobane is known to be a stronghold of the SDF.
The Hawar News Agency said that the man killed in the strikes, Akram Istk, was a veteran of the “Kurdish cause”. It is possible that Istk, who was in his 50s, was a fighter or a commander of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party that maintains a strong influence within the SDF.
Akram Istk, click to see full-size image. Source: the Hawar News Agency.
Turkish combat drones has been very active over SDF-held areas in northern and northeastern Syria for the last few months.
According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Turkish drone strikes on Syria have claimed the lives of 18 people, including five women and two children, since the start of the year.
The SDF refrained from responding to most recent Turkish drone strikes. Despite this, the Turkish military its proxies escalated their military operations in northern and northeastern Syria.
Ankara may be preparing to launch a large-scale ground operation against the SDF. Such a move will likely lead to a dangerous military confrontation with the Syrian Arab Army and Russian forces, who both maintain a large presence in SDF-held areas.
