Syrian Army says SDF targeted its positions in Aleppo countryside with over 25 suicide drones, breaching ceasefire

• Military says it shot down several drones before they hit homes
  
  ISTANBUL

The Syrian Army said Sunday that the YPG/SDF terrorist organization launched more than 25 suicide drone attacks on its positions in the Aleppo countryside, breaching a newly extended ceasefire, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.

The army’s Operations Command said in a statement that SDF forces targeted Syrian Army deployment sites around the Ayn al-Arab area, also known as Kobani, using more than 25 FPV (first-person view) type explosive drones. The attacks resulted in the destruction of four army vehicles.

The SDF also targeted the M4 highway and nearby villages, wounding a number of civilians, the statement added.

The Operations Command said the army is currently assessing the field situation and reviewing its response options.

“The Syrian Army is considering its operational choices in response to the targeting of civilians and its deployment positions and will take the necessary measures,” the statement said.

The Defense Ministry’s Media and Communications Department said the SDF launched more than 25 FPV suicide drones from positions around Ayn al-Arab, with most of them targeting civilian homes and roads in the town of Sarrin, south of the city, according to SANA. The attacks caused multiple civilian injuries, it said.

The ministry added that Syrian Army forces managed to shoot down several of the drones before they could strike roads and homes in residential areas east of Aleppo.

In another incident, SANA said, the army said SDF forces surrounded the homes of several families near the village of al-Shuyoukh near Ayn al-Arab as part of a “systematic arrest policy” aimed at detaining their sons. The situation later escalated into clashes with local residents, resulting in civilian injuries, according to the statement.

The attacks came a day after the Syrian government extended a ceasefire with the SDF by 15 days on Saturday.

Earlier, the Syrian government said a four-day truce with the SDF ended and that authorities were considering their next steps following the expiration of that agreement.