ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Suspected Turkish artillery shells and at least two drones targeted the city of Qamishli in northeast Syria (Rojava), reported local media affiliated with the Kurdish armed forces on Tuesday.
The shelling targeted two villages north of Qamishli, with no confirmed casualties, according to Hawar News Agency (ANHA).
Drone strikes also targeted Qamishli on two separate occasions on Tuesday. The first drone targeted a house in the village of Kharza in the morning, while the second one targeted an area north of the city, on the border with Turkey, in the afternoon.
At least four were killed in the second drone strike, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), noting that the identity of the casualties remains unknown.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic (SDF) on Wednesday confirmed the death of four of its fighters in the attack, vowing to avenge for "their sacred blood."
Turkey has recently increased its attacks in Rojava, following a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday.
Erdogan told reporters after the meeting that Putin suggested for Ankara to cooperate with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime “in the fight against terrorism,” referring to the Kurdish armed forces.
He stated that they are working towards that endeavor with Syrian intelligence, and that Putin has reaffirmed Moscow’s support to Ankara on this matter as well.
A suspected Turkish drone targeted a civilian car in Qamishli on Saturday, killing at least four, including two children, reported the SDF.
Ankara launched its last military incursion in northern Syria in October 2019, which was followed by a deal between Turkey and Russia to drive Kurdish fighters 30 kilometers away from the Turkish-Syrian border.
However, Turkey has recently renewed threats to carry out a new military operation against the SDF in northern Syria’s Manbij and Tal Rifaat towns in a bid to complete the 30 kilometer “safe zone” it began creating along its southern borders.
Updated on August 10, 1:04 pm with the SDF statement
