The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) shot down a Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drone near the Qara Quzak (Qere Qozaq) Bridge in northern Syria on Wednesday, SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami announced. Writing on X (formerly Twitter), Shami stated: “Today at 01:00 pm. Our fighters shot down a Turkish UCAV type (Bayraktar TB2) in the area of the Qara Qwzaq Bridge. [sic]”
This development highlights the ongoing escalation of Turkey’s drone warfare against Kurdish-controlled territories in Syria and Iraq. On the same day, a Turkish drone struck a sugar factory in Dair Hafir (Der Hafir), part of the al-Tabqah (Tebqa) Canton in northern Syria, causing significant damage to the facility.
The downing of the drone marks a rare defensive success for Kurdish forces amid Turkey’s intensifying drone campaign, which has already claimed at least 56 lives in 2024, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The casualty numbers include civilians, and critical infrastructure is frequently targeted.
Drone warfare is a key feature of Turkey’s strategy in northern Syria, conducted along with its allies the Syrian National Army (SNA). While Ankara frames the operations as counter-terrorism, Kurdish leaders denounce them as an invasion plan intended to destabilise autonomous Kurdish-led regions. In 2023, drone strikes killed at least 44 people, including 22 civilians, further exemplifying the human toll of these actions.
The SDF continues to resist, with Shami’s announcement serves to symbolically counter to Turkey’s technological dominance in drone warfare.
