Three Turkish drone attacks in northeast Syria in 24 hours

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Tuesday that two members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were killed in two separate Turkish drone attacks, and a third attack left two people injured.

All three attacks were carried out near Al-Raqqah, in northeast Syria.

According to local SOHR sources, the first attack targeted the vehicle of a SDF member in the morning in the village of Bir Arab in Tell Abyad countryside, north of Al-Raqqah, leaving the commander dead. 

In the second attack, a Turkish drone hit a car near the town of Ain Issa, north of Al-Raqqah, injuring two people, one severely.

In the third, a SDF outpost in the village of Qazali was targeted, once again in Tell Abyad countryside, leaving a SDF member dead.

The three attacks have followed the assassination of three Kurdish women fighters, including a SDF deputy commander, by a Turkish drone on 22 July.

The escalation of Turkish drone strikes targeting areas under the control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) coincides with objections by the United States, Russia and Iran to a new Turkish incursion into north Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said repeatedly since early June that they are determined to launch a fresh military campaign in north Syria to extend their 'security corridor' in the face of 'terror threats.'

The SDF has played a crucial role in defeating the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria and ending its territorial control, and is a partner of the Global Coalition led by the United States in the fight against ISIS.