The attack on areas controlled by the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces came a day after Turkey’s president said his government would not hesitate to act if Kurdish-led groups in northern Syria went ahead with plans to hold local elections. The government accuses the groups of having links to Turkey’s outlawed Kurdish militants. Read more
A Turkish drone strike in northeastern Syria on Friday night killed four US-backed fighters and wounded 11 civilians, Kurdish-led forces said.
The airstrikes on areas controlled by the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces came a day after Turkey’s president said his government would not hesitate to take action if Kurdish-led groups in northern Syria went ahead with plans to hold local elections, which he accuses of having links to Kurdish militants outlawed in Turkey.
The SDF said the drone attacks hit eight SDF positions in and around the northern Syrian city of Qamishli, as well as civilian homes and vehicles. Such Turkish attacks are not uncommon in northeastern Syria.
The Kurdish Red Crescent said an ambulance was damaged and put out of service by Turkish forces as emergency personnel tried to reach the affected area, near the town of Amuda in western Qamishli.
There was no immediate comment from Turkey.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Arab Republic, which controls northern and eastern Syria, has announced plans to hold municipal elections on June 11. Voting to choose mayors will take place in Hasakah, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and eastern Aleppo provinces.
On Friday, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel posted on X that “we do not believe at this time that conditions are in place to hold such elections in northeast Syria.”
The remarks appeared to be a message to the Kurdish-led authorities urging them not to hold elections.
Turkey, which has conducted military operations in Syria in the past, sees the move as a step by Syrian Kurdish militants to create an independent Kurdish state across the border and claims the planned elections are a threat to the territorial integrity of both Syria and Turkey.
“We are closely monitoring the aggressive actions of terrorist organizations against our country and Syria’s territorial integrity under the pretext of elections,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.
Turkey considers the Kurdish militia, known as the Kurdistan People’s Protection Units, a terrorist organisation with ties to the banned Kurdish organisations that have led an insurgency in Turkey since 1984. Tens of thousands have been killed in the clashes with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.
The Syrian Democratic Forces are a pillar of the Syrian Democratic Forces and a key US ally in the fight against Islamic State. US support for the SDF has infuriated Turkey and is a major source of friction in relations between the two countries.
