ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A commander from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was killed on Friday in a suspected Turkish drone strike in northeast Syria, according to the Kurdish-led force.
The SDF said a Turkish drone targeted the SDF commander Farhad Derik while he was visiting his family in Derik, Hasaka province. A woman and a child were also injured in the attack, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The commander worked as a coordinator between the SDF and global coalition forces in Syria, and he had previously been the target of Turkish drone strikes, according to SOHR.
Turkey’s defense ministry on Friday said it had “neutralized” three members of the Kurdish forces in Syria and two others in the Kurdistan Region. Turkey uses the term “neutralized” to denote adversaries captured, wounded, or killed.
Since early October, Turkey has conducted frequent assaults on Kurdish-led forces and civilian infrastructure in Rojava in retaliation for an attack on the interior ministry in Ankara, for which the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) claimed responsibility.
The PKK is an armed group struggling for increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. It is proscribed as a terrorist organization by Ankara. Turkey believes the SDF and its Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) are Syrian branches of the PKK. The SDF has denied any role in the interior ministry attack.
Turkish bombs this month have hit military targets and civilian infrastructure, including power stations, oil fields, and other basic services in Rojava, leaving more than two million people without water or electricity.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said only members of the PKK and the YPG were being targeted in what he called the first phase of the military campaign.
Turkey’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan said on October 18, that Ankara will not refrain from “destroying” income sources of Kurdish forces in Rojava. Fidan earlier warned that all infrastructure linked to the YPG will be “legitimate targets.”
Human Rights Watch on Thursday accused Turkey of damaging critical infrastructure in Rojava and demanded Ankara “urgently” stop further harm to water and power stations.
Updated at 8:50 pm
