ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two soldiers from a Syrian army brigade comprising integrated members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were killed and two others wounded in an attack in Qamishli, northeast Syria (Rojava), on Tuesday, according to a military spokesperson.
“Two fighters were killed and two others from the Qamishli Brigade were wounded after their position in the village of Tawil Harb, in the Qamishli countryside, came under attack by an outlaw group. The fighters repelled the attack, while operations are ongoing to pursue those involved and take the necessary measures against them,” said Helezwar Mitani, military media director for the army’s Eastern Region.
The Qamishli Brigade is affiliated with the defense ministry’s 60th Division, which was formed in recent months from members of the Kurdish-led SDF as part of the process to integrate the force into Syria’s state institutions.
The integration followed an agreement between Damascus and the SDF earlier this year aimed at incorporating the Kurdish-led force and its military structures into the Syrian state.
Mitani did not identify the group behind Tuesday’s attack.
The incident comes against the backdrop of protests by Kurds in Qamishli, Hasaka and Kobane over attacks on Kurdish families returning to their homes in Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) on Monday after around seven years of displacement.
The returning convoy consisted of around 400 families and was escorted by government forces. Kurdish and Syrian authorities have called for calm and described the attacks in Sari Kani as individual acts.
