Escalating Turkish attacks target vital infrastructure in NE Syria

The attacks span from the Shahba region in Aleppo’s northern countryside, extending through Manbij, Kobani, and further northeast to Tel Tamr, Derbasiyah, Amuda, Qamishli, Tirbe Spiyeh (al-Qahtaniya), and reaching as far as Derik (al-Malikiyah).

Ongoing bombardment

The Turkish shelling resumed on Saturday, with a drone striking a medical clinic in Qamishli’s Maysalon neighborhood three times, according to the Internal Security Forces of North and East Syria (Asayish).

Key energy facilities have been hit, including oil fields in al-Qahtaniya, Rmelan, and the Sweidiya gas plant, along with service centers like Qamishli’s Agricultural Development Company, flour mill, and grain silos in Kobani.

A Turkish drone also targeted a bakery in Derik, while another struck a dairy factory, injuring three female workers.

Shelling around the village of Arab Hassan near Manbij and artillery strikes at Awn Dadat crossing resulted in four injuries, including a child.

Victims

On Friday, the Asayish reported the toll from escalation as follows: 705 strikes, including 99 drone attacks, 13 warplane strikes, and 573 mortar rounds, leaving 17 dead and 48 injured. Among the deceased were three Asayish members and Hussein Ali Daa, 24, killed in Kobani’s Roufi silos.

In the northern countryside of Aleppo, locally known as Shaba region, the victims included 5-year-old Malak Shiyar and her mother, Kurdistan Khalil Waqas, among others.

The Sweidiya gas plant bombing claimed the lives of eight workers: Mizar al-Hassan, 28, Issam al-Sabih, 32, Attallah al-Khedr, 48, Bashar al-Owaid, 17, Mahmoud al-Hussein, 29, Fadl al-Khad’an, Elias Issa, 31, and one whose name remains unknown.

In Manbij, the Turkish shelling resulted in the killing of 11-year-old Farah al-Barho, and the injury of her brothers Abdul Rahman al-Barho, 13, and Samir al-Barho. 

Energy sector losses

Ziad Rustam, co-chair of the Energy Board of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), estimated damages from Turkish strikes on the energy sector at over $5 million.

Hits to conversion stations in Kobani, Amuda, and al-Qahtaniya have disrupted power supply, damaging five major transformers.

Rustam expressed concern for the wider population, given the substantial impact on more than 10 oil fields, stating that with continuous strikes, there are no alternative solutions for lost facilities and services.