On Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that a Turkish drone hit a vehicle near a cement factory on the main Qamishli-Derik road in Hasaka province, wounding and killing four people. Media outlets close to the Kurdish administration in Rojava reported five injuries.
The People’s Protection Units (YPG) confirmed on Friday that one of their fighters, Ciwan Oso, was killed in the attack along with two civilians. The YPG blamed Turkey, which has not commented on the incident.
Turkey recently intensified its attacks on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria. YPG is the backbone of the SDF. Ankara has claimed it killed 41 SDF fighters in drone strikes. The SDF on Wednesday rejected Turkey’s figures and said five of their ranks have been killed.
Turkey has conducted three offensives against the YPG since 2016 and has threatened to carry out another military campaign against them in the near future. Ankara claims that the YPG is the Syrian offshoot of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) - an armed group struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey but listed as a terrorist group by Ankara.