Turkey carries out 9 drone strikes, killing 8: SOHR
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Turkey on Thursday carried out nine drone strikes, in which a total of 8 people were killed, and five injured, UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reports.
The Turkish drone strikes targeted locations in Hasakah, Amude, Darbasiyah and Al-Jawadiyah (Çilaxa).
SOHR also claimed the US-led coalition shot down a Turkish drone near the Tal Baydar base, but this was not confirmed by the US-led coalition.
Îro,Lı Kampa Waşokanî ya koçberan, nemaze yên ku serdana navenda Heyva Sor a Kurd dikirın, di encama êrîşeke asîmanî ya balafırın dagırkerıya Tirkiyê de ku navendên nêzîkî kampê armanc kırın, serdan û nexweş neçar man ku ji wir derkevin, pêre rewşeke tirsê dı nava koçbaran de… pic.twitter.com/vhl89rriB9
— heyva sor a kurd (@HeyvaKurd) October 5, 2023
The drone strikes also targeted locations near the Washokani camp, the Kurdish red crescent said, spreading fear among the population.
The camp hosts thousands of displaced people that fled Turkey’s 2019 military incursion.
Read More: Turkish FM blames Ankara attack on fighters coming from Syria
The wave of drone strikes came after the Turkish FM Hakan Fidan on Wednesday blamed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters coming from Syria for Sunday’s attack in Ankara.
He also said “infrastructure, superstructure facilities” belonging to the People’s Protection Units and PKK would be ‘legitimate targets.”
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi denied the claim by Fidan, and tweeted that the “perpetrators haven't passed through our region as Turkish officials claim.”
He added that “Turkey is looking for pretexts to legitimize its ongoing attacks on our region and to launch a new military aggression.”
Also the SDF in a statement denied the allegations made by Turkish officials, suggesting it was aimed at diverting “attention from its internal problems .
Moreover, the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) in a statement on Thursday said the "targeting infrastructure facilities is aggressive behavior amounts to war crimes."
It also confirmed that since the early morning hours, the Turkish army "has been launching attacks by warplanes and drones against vital and service facilities in Hasaka."
Read More: U.S. Calls for De-Escalation in Northeast Syria, but won’t Criticize Turkey
US Deputy State Department Spokesperson Vedant Patel on Wednesday underlined that the US remains concerned about the military escalation in northern Syria.
“In particular,” he said, “we’re concerned about the impact on civilian populations,” as well as the harm such escalation could cause “ongoing” efforts to defeat ISIS.