Rocket attack near Tishrin Dam kills two Syrian soldiers

Militants affiliated with the YPG, the Syrian branch of the PKK operating under the banner of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), launched a rocket attack on a Syrian army position near the Tishrin Dam in the Aleppo province, killing two soldiers and critically injuring another.

According to the Syrian Ministry of Defence, the assailants targeted a Syrian army position located in rural areas surrounding the Tishrin Dam using a guided missile, Caliber.Az reports, citing Syrian media.

"SDF forces targeted one of the Syrian Arab Army's deployment points in the vicinity of Tishrin Dam with a guided missile,” the ministry’s media and communications department said, adding that the attack led to the death of two soldiers and the injury of one.

The SDF responded to the allegations in a later statement, saying they “categorically affirm that this information is incorrect, and that our forces did not carry out any attack in the mentioned area.”

A verbal agreement was reached between the two parties to cease hostilities earlier this month, after high-ranking delegations on both sides held a meeting in Damascus.

The Damascus meeting further discussed mechanisms of implementing the March 10 agreement, which has been repeatedly delayed as the SDF and Damascus-affiliated forces have engaged in clashes in recent months, with both sides accusing the other of provocations and attacks.

On March 10, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi signed an agreement that would see the Kurdish-led force and its institutions in northeast Syria (Rojava) integrate with the Syrian state.

On October 29, the Kurdish authorities in Rojava announced that the SDF had submitted a list of around 70 field commanders to the US-led global coalition “as part of preparations to restructure their units into three divisions and special brigades within the Syrian Army.”

The US-backed SDF functions as the de facto army of northeast Syria and played a key role in the territorial defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria in 2019.

By Vafa Guliyeva