Qamishli, Syria (North Press) – Thousands of the people of north and east Syria (Rojava in Kurdish) attended on Sunday the funeral ceremony of three female fighters of the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) in the city of Hasakah.
The YPJ fighters lost their lives when a Turkish drone attacked their car in the city of Qamishli on July 22.
The General Command of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), where the YPJ is a main group within it, announced that the drone attack which targeted a car in Qamishli claimed the lives of three female fighters.
Following Tehran’s summit on July 19 which brought together the presidents of Russia, Iran and Turkey, Turkey has been using drones extensively in north and east Syria, targeting civilians and military vehicles, and sometimes vital facilities and empty farmlands.
The targeting included Salwa Youssef (aka Jiyan Afrin), commander in the SDF-affiliated Counter-Terrorism Units (YAT) which is considered as spearhead in joint operations between the SDF and the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, Jwana Hisso, a commander of YPJ, and the YAT fighter Ruha Bashar.
Following the attack, the SDF Commander in Chief, Mazloum Abdi said that such targeting “undermines war against ISIS.”
Abdi called on the SDF partners [the US] to make greater efforts to stop Turkish violation. “We will avenge,” he said.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) extended condolences to the families of the fighters and the people of northeast Syria, commending the fighters’ efforts in combating ISIS, “Salwa was a critical SDF leader who led forces in combat vs ISIS since the height of the fight to defeat the vile ideology in NE Syria in 2017.”
Head of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), Saleh Moslem said in a tweet that the three fighters were “fighting against ISIS together with COALITION,” adding, “Now, Turkey killing them as revenge of defeating ISIS and COALITION is watching in silence.”
While Ilham Ahmad, president of the Executive Committee of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) said that the three female fighters “played a major role in liberating Arab & Yazidi women from ISIS.”
“Turkey is avenging for ISIS,” she added.
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) released a statement in which it demanded the Global Coalition to assume its responsibilities, and called on the international community to break the silence barrier and confront Turkish arrogance and stop it at its geographical and political borders.
Nicholas Heras, a Middle East analyst, said that “The US has a back channel intelligence arrangement with Turkey. This conduit of communication has been used by the Turkish military to conduct drone strikes against targets in Syria in the past.”
“These drone strikes are viewed by the US side as an acceptable price to pay to prevent a larger Turkish military campaign in Syria against the SDF,” he told North Press.