Syria
Fighters of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) during a military training in Deir ez-Zor on December 8, 2025. File photo: SDF media
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Tuesday that two of its fighters were injured in a suicide drone attack while assisting civilians near Deir Hafir in eastern Aleppo province, blaming factions linked to the Damascus government for the assault.
“Two of our fighters were injured to varying degrees Tuesday afternoon as a result of an explosion caused by a suicide [Unmanned Aerial Vehichle] UAV belonging to factions affiliated with the Damascus government,” the SDF said in a statement on X.
The SDF said the drone directly targeted its personnel “while they were carrying out their humanitarian duty of evacuating and providing medical assistance to civilians” who had been “wounded by shelling carried out by those same factions on villages and populated areas in the vicinity of Deir Hafir.”
Deir Hafir, a strategic area in eastern Aleppo, remains largely under the control of the SDF, which serves as the de facto military in Rojava and is the main on-the-ground partner of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State (ISIS).
Of note, Syria became the 90th state to join the anti-ISIS coalition in late November.
The SDF on Tuesday slammed “the targeting of medical evacuation teams and aid points” as “a highly dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms.”
It further held the Damascus government “fully responsible for this escalation and its consequences, as well as for any direct threat to the region’s security and civilians’ lives,” reaffirming its commitment to protecting civilians while reserving its legitimate right to defend its forces and territories.
The incident comes a day after the SDF reported that factions affiliated with the Damascus government shelled areas near the strategic Tishreen Dam in eastern Aleppo province.
In a statement late Monday, the SDF said, “Factions affiliated with the Damascus government are shelling the villages of Haj Hussein and Sheikh Mahshi, as well as Syriatel Hill near the Tishreen Dam, using artillery and heavy weapons.”
The SDF and Damascus have repeatedly traded accusations of attacks, despite ongoing talks to implement a March agreement to integrate Rojava’s civil and military institutions into those of Damascus. The talks stalled over disagreements on incorporating the SDF into the Syrian army but have since resumed.
The Kurdish-led administration in Rojava also continues to push for decentralization, a demand viewed cautiously by Damascus, though SDF officials have recently noted a more flexible tone from the transitional government.
Last week, Abu Omar al-Idlibi, a senior commander in the North Democratic Forces - a component of the SDF - told Rudaw that the they are approaching integration talks with Damascus “with great seriousness,” but said progress remains stalled due to a lack of political will from the Damascus leadership and what he described as a failure to reciprocate the SDF’s steps.
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