ALBAWABA- Six Syrian soldiers were killed and several others wounded overnight after Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured multiple positions in the Maadan area of rural Aleppo, the Syrian Ministry of Defense announced Thursday.
The assault, described by Damascus as a “treacherous” attack using heavy weapons, triggered intense exchanges of fire and the temporary displacement of nearby civilians.
The ministry said SDF units launched a surprise midnight bombardment before overrunning several army posts near the Euphrates River.
Syrian forces later mounted a counterattack and reclaimed some positions, but clashes continued into the morning. “We hold the SDF fully responsible for this renewed aggression, which has become an almost daily violation,” the ministry said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported at least two soldiers killed and five wounded, adding that SDF fighters secured Maadan’s grain silos and a strategic bridge vital for supply routes into Deir ez-Zor.
SDF officials, however, rejected claims of expansion, insisting the operation targeted “regime remnants” operating beyond agreed lines under the shaky October ceasefire. U.S. officials called for restraint from all parties, stressing the SDF’s ongoing role in counter-ISIS operations.
The escalation highlights the fragility of Syria’s northeast, where the SDF, Washington’s main partner against the Islamic State, controls nearly a third of the country with the support of roughly 900 U.S. troops.
Despite a March 2025 agreement to gradually integrate SDF forces into the transitional national army following Assad’s fall, skirmishes have persisted amid disputes over autonomy, disarmament, and Turkish pressure for a wider buffer zone.
