Laith Al-jnaidi and Rania Abushamala
05 January 2026•Update: 05 January 2026
DAMASCUS / ISTANBUL
The Syrian Defense Ministry said Monday that three soldiers were wounded in an attack by the SDF terrorist group in the Aleppo countryside in northern Syria.
“As part of its ongoing escalation against army positions across different regions of the republic, SDF drones targeted a military police checkpoint near army deployment points in the vicinity of Deir Hafer, east of Aleppo,” the ministry said in a statement.
Damage was also reported to two military vehicles.
The ministry said the Syrian army will respond to the assault “in an appropriate manner,” without giving further details.
The state-run Alikhbaria TV, citing an unnamed military source, said the Syrian army hit the launch points of the SDF drones in the vicinity of Deir Hafir in eastern Aleppo.
The outlet said the army’s response to the attack “will be limited.”
According to the broadcaster, the SDF drone attack resulted in more than six injuries among civilians and military police.
The attack came after Alikhbaria TV reported that meetings were held on Sunday in Damascus with the SDF, attended by its commander Mazloum Abdi, to discuss the implementation of a March 10, 2025 agreement.
The broadcaster said the meetings “did not yield tangible results.”
The SDF is dominated by the terrorist group YPG, the Syrian branch of the terrorist PKK.
On March 10, the Syrian presidency announced the signing of an agreement for the SDF’s integration into state institutions, reaffirming the country's territorial unity and rejecting any attempts at division.
Syrian authorities say that in the months since, the SDF has not shown any efforts to meet the terms of the agreement.
