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Conflicting Reports about US Drone Strike Target in Idlib

Civil defense firefighters near the remains of a car targeted by a US raid in Idlib countryside on Monday (Idlib News)
Civil defense firefighters near the remains of a car targeted by a US raid in Idlib countryside on Monday (Idlib News)
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Conflicting Reports about US Drone Strike Target in Idlib

Civil defense firefighters near the remains of a car targeted by a US raid in Idlib countryside on Monday (Idlib News)
Civil defense firefighters near the remains of a car targeted by a US raid in Idlib countryside on Monday (Idlib News)

A leader of a faction affiliated with al-Qaeda was killed in a US drone strike in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province on Monday, according to field activists and the US military, amid conflicting reports about the target.

The head of the Syrian opposition’s monitor, Abu Amin, said that the Monday US drone strike had targeted the Guardians of Religion Organization leader Abu Khalid Qudsaya while he was riding a civilian vehicle along the Idlib-Binnish road east of Idlib province.

Amin denied reports that the strike had killed another two leaders of the Guardians of Religion Organization.

He also pointed out that Qudsaya had previously survived a US air raid that targeted him around two years ago.

In a statement on Tuesday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) spokeswoman Lieutenant Josie Lynne Lenny said: “US forces conducted a kinetic counter-terrorism strike near Idlib, Syria, today, on a senior al-Qaeda leader.”

“Initial indications are that we struck the individual we were aiming for, and there are no indications of civilian casualties as a result of the strike.”

In a Monday press conference, Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby announced that a drone strike hit a vehicle traveling in rebel-controlled northwestern Syria on Monday, killing a senior al-Qaeda leader.

Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby said the airstrike was conducted near Idlib, Syria and there are no initial indications of any civilian casualties.

The US has carried out attacks in Idlib before, targeting al-Qaeda militants and the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was hiding in the province after fleeing from eastern Syria.

Large parts of Idlib and neighboring Aleppo province remain in the hands of Syrian armed opposition, dominated by radical groups including the once al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

More so, Al-Qaeda factions and the remnants of ISIS are subjected to repeated air raids by Russian warplanes within the Syrian Badia and northeastern Syria, and similar raids by the US-led International Coalition.

In October 2019, nine extremists were killed. Four of the fighters belonged to the Guardians of Religion Organization, which is the arm of Al-Qaeda in Syria. About a month later, 40 extremists were killed in US strikes near the city of Idlib.

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Türkiye Denies Direct Talks with SDF, Demands Full Disarmament

Türkiye insists on the dissolution of the SDF, the departure of foreign fighters from Syria, and the integration of remaining members into the new army (Reuters)
Türkiye insists on the dissolution of the SDF, the departure of foreign fighters from Syria, and the integration of remaining members into the new army (Reuters)
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Türkiye Denies Direct Talks with SDF, Demands Full Disarmament

Türkiye insists on the dissolution of the SDF, the departure of foreign fighters from Syria, and the integration of remaining members into the new army (Reuters)
Türkiye insists on the dissolution of the SDF, the departure of foreign fighters from Syria, and the integration of remaining members into the new army (Reuters)

Türkiye has denied holding any direct negotiations with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), asserting that no dialogue is possible unless the group dissolves itself and fully disarms.

Omer Celik, spokesperson and deputy chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), firmly rejected recent reports and statements suggesting contacts between Turkish authorities and the SDF.

“No official meetings have taken place,” Celik stated Thursday, following a high-level party meeting chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

His comments came in response to a recent interview with SDF commander Mazloum Abdi, who claimed there had been direct contacts and expressed openness to meeting Erdogan. Without naming Abdi directly, Celik dismissed the notion that Türkiye had engaged with the SDF as though it were an independent entity. “It is unacceptable to frame the situation in that way,” he said.

Celik reiterated that any engagement would only be possible if the SDF disbands, lays down its arms, and ends its affiliation with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party), which Ankara considers a terrorist organization. “If they disarm, then a meeting could be possible,” he added.

In recent days, several Western media outlets reported that US-mediated talks had taken place between Türkiye and the SDF. These reports claimed the discussions centered on reducing tensions, dissolving the SDF, and implementing a March agreement with the Syrian government that would see SDF fighters integrated into a new Syrian army and hand over ISIS-linked detainees and camps to Damascus.

While some reports hinted at a potential meeting between Abdi and either Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan or intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Fidan denied such plans. He confirmed that Türkiye is working with both Washington and Damascus to implement the SDF’s military integration.

Celik also acknowledged an agreement between the SDF and the Syrian government that would see the SDF hand over territory to state control. He stated that all PKK elements, especially those from the YPG (the SDF’s leading faction), must leave the country.

Referring to a May 12 PKK statement titled “Dissolution of the PKK and Disarmament,” Celik stressed that Erdogan had made it clear that all PKK-affiliated structures, including the SDF, must be dismantled and disarmed.

“This is not about opposing Kurdish rights,” Celik concluded. “President Erdogan told Assad years ago: Give Kurds their rights like any other citizens. But we will never allow a terrorist state on our southern border.”