File image.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched a deadly attack against the forces of the country’s Islamist-led Interim Government in the northern governorate of Raqqa overnight after accusing them of recruiting terrorists from ISIS and arming them with drones to attack its fighters.
The escalation began late on November 19, when the SDF released a statement saying that its fighters shot down two ISIS-operated drones which were launched from the positions of government-affiliated factions in the eastern countryside of Raqqa.
The two unmanned aerial vehicles were identified as a DJI Matrice 30 Series drone, apparently used for reconnaissance, and a first-person view, or FPV, suicide drone.
The SDF said that its technical teams analyzed data from the Matrice 30’s memory card after retrieving the wreckage, determining it had been operated by “a group of foreign militants affiliated with the ISIS terrorist organization, stationed at positions held by Damascus government-affiliated factions.”
“These findings conclusively confirm the involvement of several factions of the Damascus government in cooperating with foreign ISIS-affiliated elements,” the group added, warning that such coordination enables ISIS to rebuild its capabilities “in an even more dangerous manner.”
It also called on the United States-led coalition to investigate, warning that “ignoring these violations undermines regional security and enables ISIS to regroup and threaten civilians and communities.”
In the video footage released by the SDF, one of the drone operators, who appears to be a foreigner from central or eastern Asia, is seen wearing an ISIS flag batch.
The footage are not surprising. Government forces include thousands of foreign jihadists who were integrated into the new military. Some were even given high ranks. Wearing ISIS batches is also very common among these jihadists, as well as among regular Syrian soldiers.
Clashes broke out in the eastern Raqqa countryside a few hours after the release of the footage. The clashes, which went on into the early morning of November 20, took place between the towns of Madan and Ghanem Ali.
The SDF later announced that its fighters attacked the positions which were used by ISIS to launch drone strikes in the eastern Raqqa countryside.
“Our forces within the Syrian Democratic Forces are engaging a number of positions that ISIS terrorists directly used to launch unmanned aerial vehicles toward our positions in the Ghanem Ali desert east of Raqqa,” the group said in a statement, adding that the area has faced repeated attacks this week “by factions affiliated with the Damascus government, coinciding with ISIS activity.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based monitoring group, said that six soldiers were killed as a result of the SDF attack.
However, the Syrian Ministry of Defense said in a statement published by the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency that only two were killed.
“The SDF attacked Syrian Arab Army positions in the Madan area of Raqqa countryside after midnight, seizing several positions following heavy shelling with various types of weapons. This resulted in the martyrdom of two soldiers and injuries to others,” the ministry said.
“Our forces responded to the sources of fire and launched a direct counterattack, regaining control of the positions and expelling the attacking forces,” it continued.
“We hold the SDF responsible for this treacherous and almost daily attack on Syrian Arab Army positions,” it added.
Between November 15 and 17, a similar wave of clashes broke out between the SDF and government forces in the exact same area of the eastern Raqqa countryside.
The latest clashes came following reports suggesting that the two sides were making progress towards the implementation of the breakthrough agreement from March that is meant to integrate the SDF into government’s military and civil institutions.
Although the government and the SDF are both aiming to implement the agreement before the end of the year, major differences are clearly still in place.
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