Civilian killed by suspected Turkish drone strike in northern Syria

A civilian was killed by a Turkish drone strike on Thursday east of Aleppo in northern Syria, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.

A vehicle allegedly carrying members of Kurdish-led Women's Protection Units (YPJ) was targeted by the drone in the village of al-Kharoufia in Manbij countryside.

The civilian, a passerby, sustained fatal injuries as a second strike was conducted by the drone while he was trying to help the injured in the vehicle, SOHR said, adding that two passengers in the vehicle were injured by the airstrikes.

The press center of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) confirmed the incident as it said the Turkish drone targeted a civilian car.

"A Turkish UAV belonging to the Turkish occupation targeted a civilian car in the al-Kharoufia village in the southern countryside of Manbij city, causing severe injuries to the civilian Abdul Wahab Al-Muhammad Al-Hajj Hamidi," it said, adding that the civilian died despite medical intervention in the hospital.

Earlier in May, two SDF fighters were killed by a Turkish drone strike in Hasakah Governorate.

According to a report by Rojava Information Center, a volunteer based research group based in northeast Syria, 130 drone strikes were conducted in 2022 in northern Syria, up from 89 in 2021, marking an increase of 46%.

Turkish authorities claim that the SDF and YPJ have links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated a "terrorist group" by Ankara. The SDF and its component YPJ are part of the US-led international coalition that fight the Islamic State group (ISIS) in Syria.