Iranian-backed militia attack on SDF “dangerous development” – Abdi
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – General Mazloum Abdi, Commander in Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said on Thursday the recent drone strike on his forces in Northeast Syria by Iranian-backed militias was “a dangerous development.”
In an exclusive statement to Reuters, Abdi said his forces – the SDF – considered the attack “a dangerous development when our camps are targeted in drone attacks by factions backed by Iran.”
Abdi noted to the necessity of the deployment of additional air defenses in Northeast Syria, especially after the killing of six SDF fighters by Iranian militias in eastern Syria.
On Feb. 5, an Iranian-backed militia launched a suicide drone attack on a training academy for the SDF commando forces in al-Omar Oil Field in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria. The attack resulted in the killing of six SDF fighters.
“The Iranian-backed militias used the Syrian regime-controlled areas in Deir Ezzor as a staging ground for the terrorist attack that targeted our Commando Academy and resulted in the martyrdom of six of our Commando fighters,” the SDF said in a statement.
On the same day, Iran’s MEHR News Agency reported that the so-called Islamic Resistance in Iraq had conducted the attack.
The SDF Commander in Chief pointed out that they would “require technical capabilities and an increase in the aerial defensive systems” to be deployed in Northeast Syria.
“From their (the U.S.) side, they confirmed they would try and expend efforts to prevent these attacks,” he told Reuters.
As for the issue of a potential withdrawal of the American troops from the region, Abdi indicated that he had received reassurances by the State Department, White House, and the Pentagon that their mission would continue.
However, he mentioned that a withdrawal “is possible in the future… Truthfully, we don’t ask for American troops to stay here forever. That’s not possible.”
At the same time, he warned that any U.S. pull-out would “multiply several times over” the threats posed by the Iranian-backed militias, the Islamic State group (ISIS), and Turkey.
“If American forces do withdraw, depending on the circumstances, naturally we will go towards the plans that suit the interests of our people and the make-up of the region,” Mazloum Abdi added, noting that the plans would not include a long-term partnership with the Syrian government forces that did not have the capacity to defend against ISIS, according to Abdi.