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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The general commander of the Kurdish led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said that they would avenge an SDF commander and two other fighters, who were killed in a drone strike outside Qamishli on Friday.
Media outlets affiliated with the SDF on Friday reported a drone attack on a vehicle near a residential area on Qamishli-Tirbespi (al-Qahtaniyah) road, saying that three people were killed in the attack without identifying them.
The SDF on Saturday confirmed the identities of the deceased as the commander of the SDF’s counter terrorism unit Salwa Yousef, Joanna Hasso, and Ruha Bashar.
The SDF said that the three were killed by a Turkish drone strike while they were on duty.
SDF General Commander Mazloum Abdi on Sunday offered his condolences to the families of the three, vowing revenge.
“Turkey's targeting [of] them undermines [the] war against ISIS [Islamic State],” Abdi said, calling on partners to make “greater efforts to stop violations.”
“We will avenge,” he added.
The US Central Command also offered its condolences on Sunday.
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— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 24, 2022
Salwa was a critical SDF leader who led forces in combat vs ISIS since the height of the fight to defeat the vile ideology in NE Syria in 2017.
CENTCOM extends our condolences to the Families of these 3 SDF fighters, the people in Northeast Syria & our SDF partners. pic.twitter.com/XlxgUJ5JlK
Turkey often targets the US-allied SDF and its backbone, the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria on the grounds that they have links with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and pose a threat to Turkish bordering areas.
The Turkish defense ministry said on Sunday that they had "neutralized" PKK/YPG members who were preparing for an attack on Aleppo.
The PKK is an armed group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. Ankara considers the group and its alleged offshoots in Syria as terrorist organizations.
Ankara has carried out two major military operations against Kurdish forces in Syria since 2018 and has in recent months renewed threats to carry out a new offensive against them in Syria's northern towns of Manbij and Tal Rifaat. Kurdish forces have said that they have taken the threats seriously and begun making preparations.
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