NE Syria: unidentified raid on YPG forces

HASAKAH, Syrian Kurdistan (K24) – On Sunday, the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) said an unidentified warplane bombed one of its assemblies in Hasakah Province.

YPG Press Office released a statement regarding the incident: “One of our units in Tishrin oil field in eastern Hasakah was bombed by an unidentified jet on Feb. 19, first with cluster bombs and then with bullets, leaving three fighters dead, and two others wounded.”

“After this incident a special committee began to investigate the area where the attack occurred,” the statement continued.“While some cluster shells were found unexploded, the investigation to learn the identity of the attacking plane is ongoing.”

The statement also noted that there is no evidence to indicate the plane belonged to the international anti-IS Coalition. “The type of recovered bombs will make its origin clear,” the statement said.

Some reports said that this attack might be Turkey seeking revenge for last Wednesday's Ankara blast in which a car laden with explosives was detonated near military buses, killing 30 people.

Turkey claims the YPG, which the United States supports in the fight against Islamic State (IS) in Syria, was involved in the Ankara bombing.

However, the YPG's political arm—the Democratic Union Party (PYD)—has denied the group was behind Ankara attack and said Turkey was using the bombing as a pretext to justify its escalation in fighting YPG in northern Syria.

It is worth mentioning that the bombing took place near the strategic border town of  Hawl, located south of Hasakah and liberated by US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in its second military campaign in November. SDF is mostly made up of YPG members.

Reporting by Hisham Arafat

Editing by Benjamin Kweskin and Karzan Sulaivany