ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Tuesday that it had responded through a “legitimate and direct retaliatory strike” to suicide drone attacks by Damascus-affiliated forces near northern Syria’s vital Tishrin Dam.

The SDF on Monday accused Damascus-affiliated fighters of attacking a residential area near northern Syria’s Tishrin Dam, injuring three SDF members. It also reported another suicide drone attack near the dam later in the day, which caused no casualties. 

“In response to this repeated aggression, our forces carried out a legitimate and direct retaliatory strike against the launch sites of the suicide drones,” Farhad Shami, head of media for the SDF, said in a statement.

“A Toyota military vehicle and a military position belonging to these factions were targeted, inflicting confirmed casualties,” the Kurdish-led force added.

It further accused Turkish-backed militia groups, namely the Sultan Suleiman Shah, Sultan Murad, and Hamza divisions - infamous for grave human rights abuses against Kurdish civilians - of being behind the attacks. The groups formally integrated into Syria’s defense ministry following the fall of Bashar al-Assad but are accused of continuing to act with impunity. 

Frequent clashes, such as Monday’s altercation, have stalled the implementation of a landmark March 10 agreement between SDF chief Mazloum Abdi and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to integrate the Kurdish-led force into Syrian state institutions. 

Just over a week before the escalation, clashes erupted in Aleppo’s Kurdish-majority Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods, with Damascus-affiliated and Kurdish forces trading blame for the altercation. The fighting left at least two killed and injured 20 others, according to the SDF, while Syrian state media said that at least four were killed.

The SDF is the de facto army in northeast Syria (Rojava) and the US-led anti-Islamic State (ISIS) coalition’s main partner on the ground.

Despite coming to an "immediate ceasefire" agreement in early October with high-level delegations from both sides, clashes have continued between the two forces.