This week in northern Syria
#77, June 15 - 21: Possible US drone strike in Afrin, protests over service disruption in DAANES areas, two Kurdish men shot at Furqat al-Hamzah checkpoint, and more...
06/15/24: Opposition media reported that a Turkish drone strike targeted an SDF military site near the village of Kharab al-'Ashiq, in the southeastern Kobanî countryside. Kharab al-’Ashiq is notable as it is the location of the Lafarge cement factory, a US military base from 2016 to late 2019 among other things, and its where the hills of the Kobanî region overlook the plains of the Jazirah and the SNA’s Peace Spring region, the former representing some of the only defensively advantageous terrain controlled by the SDF.
06/15/24: Unknown gunmen ambushed a Hajin Military Council (SDF) commander in the town of al-Sha'fah, eastern Deir ez-Zour, reportedly injuring him and killing two of his detail. The Hajin Military Council confirmed the death of the two fighters, blaming the attack on the Islamic State.
06/15/24: The SDF reported that its 'Military Operation Teams' (TOL) unit carried out a raid in al-Iskandaroun, Tell Hamis, leading to the arrest of two suspected Islamic State operatives. The Islamic State has claimed 20 attacks in al-Hasakah province this year, the last allegedly occurring on April 8th in the southern village of al-Ashitah. Later that month an unclaimed attack occurring in the Tell Hamis region killed a member of the Asayish.
06/16/24: Syrian Civil Defense reported that a man was killed by in a drone strike carried out by unknown actors near the Kuwait al-Rahmah IDP village in southeastern Afrin. Initially the attack was blamed on the SDF however a CENTCOM statement several days later reported that the US carried out an airstrike targeting a “senior ISIS official” somewhere in Syria, leading many to tie the two events together. Getty Images published a series of photos from the scene of the attack however these show little besides confirming the location’s proximity to the Kuwait al-Rahmah village.
06/17/24: Residents of the al-Hilaliyah neighborhood on the outskirts of al-Qamishli blocked the western entrance to the city in protest of an water outage that began approximately ten days prior. According to the AANES intense weather conditions and power outages led to the malfunctioning of the city’s water stations, forcing the administration to rely on the al-Hilaliyah water station to supply the whole city. Meanwhile opposition media reported that some local residents blamed the issue on corruption within administration. Service reportedly returned to most the neighborhood the following day. Meanwhile several days later a small protest over electricity service at the “7th” oil station outside the village of Banê Şiftekê (Ar: al-Kahf al-Aswad) in northeastern al-Hasakah - targeted by Turkish airstrikes in December 2023 - was dispersed with gunfire over head.
06/19/24: Two local Kurdish men were reportedly shot by Furqat al-Hamzah militants at a temporary checkpoint between the villages of Dargirê (Ar: Dar Kabir) and Coqê/Juwayq (Ar: Juwayq) just west of Afrin city. One of the two victims died of wounds sustained in the shooting two days later while the other remained in intensive care. According to local media the men were traveling at night by motorbike when they were surprised by the checkpoint and did not stop out of fear of robbery. A witness of the shooting was reportedly detained at the checkpoint. A statement published by the SNA Military Police on the night of the shooting said that the checkpoint was set up by its members along with the SNA’s Joint Force (Furqat al-Hamzah and Furqat al-Sultan Suleiman Shah) following a nearby prison break, that the men were shot after not stopping, and that an investigation into the incident was being carried out.
06/21/24: The SDF reported the killing of two Islamic State militants while they attempted to plant an IED in al-Hawayij, central Deir ez-Zour. Claimed Islamic State attacks against the SDF have fallen dramatically - 23 in April, 11 in May, just 3 so far in June (see below) - however numerous unclaimed attacks in Deir ez-Zour and southern al-Hasakah have continued, along with cross river clashes and infiltration attempts between the SDF and NDF.
Claimed Islamic State attacks against the SDF:
06/15/24: Attack targeting an SDF checkpoint in Dhiban, central Deir ez-Zour, allegedly killing three SDF fighters. Likely in reference to the same event local media reported that one or two SDF fighters were shot and killed by unknown assailants at the al-Raghib checkpoint in Dhiban.
06/21/24: Attack targeting the gates of an SDF headquarters in al-Busayrah, central Deir ez-Zour, allegedly injuring several fighters.
Jenan Moussa with some more details on the June 16th strike here:
https://twitter.com/jenanmoussa/status/1806029921741156457