Syrian Army: We Have Begun Targeting Militant Positions in Deir Hafer East of Aleppo in Response to Shelling by "SDF"

SadaNews - The operations authority of the Syrian army announced on Friday evening that its forces began retaliating against locations described as "the PKK militia and remnants of the fallen regime" allied with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the city of Deir Hafer, east of Aleppo.

The authority stated in a statement published by the Syrian News Agency (SANA) that this targeting comes in response to artillery shelling carried out by SDF forces in the area.

It added: "These sites are considered military bases for the SDF and its allies, from which Iranian suicide drones were launched towards our people in the city of Aleppo, and they play a significant role in shelling the eastern countryside of Aleppo and preventing the locals from leaving the area."

Syrian Army: The Threat Continues in Aleppo

The Syrian army stated in a statement issued earlier on Friday that the threat posed by SDF forces remains active against the city of Aleppo and its eastern countryside despite the intervention of mediators to ease tensions.

The army's operations authority reported that they have monitored the arrival of the "terrorist" Bahoz Erdal from the Qandil Mountains to the Tabqa area to manage military operations for the SDF and PKK militias "against Syrians and their army."

It added in a statement that the SDF and PKK militias have brought a large number of Iranian drones to the areas of Maskanah and Deir Hafer in preparation for new attacks on the locals in the city of Aleppo and its eastern countryside.

The Syrian army operations authority continued: "We have monitored the arrival of new groups from the militias and remnants of the fallen regime to the Tabqa area, from where they will be transferred to deployment points in Deir Hafer, Maskanah, and surrounding areas, stressing that they will not allow these groups to destabilize Syria."

The authority stated that the army "will defend the locals and preserve Syria's sovereignty and will not allow the remnants of the fallen regime and the cross-border terrorists coming from Qandil to destabilize Syria and target the Syrian community."

The Syrian army published a map of locations in Deir Hafer, east of Aleppo, stating that the SDF's allies use them as a base for their operations and drone launches, calling on civilians to stay away from them.

SDF: Misleading Narratives

In contrast, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) denied what was mentioned by Damascus regarding the arrival of specific figures to manage SDF operations in Aleppo.

The SDF stated in a statement: "The narratives propagated by the authorities in Damascus regarding the presence of Ali Kayali or other alleged names in northern and eastern Syria are nothing but a series of repeated lies that have been promoted over the past few days, and one by one they have fallen apart, and they come in a clear context aimed at covering their assaults and attacks and creating fictional narratives to justify what they are doing on the ground."

It added: "Relying on this approach based on fabricating names and inventing facts reveals the nature of the official discourse, which is not based on conveying information but on deliberate misinformation, in a failed attempt to evade responsibility for proven and known actions."