DAMASCUS, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Seven Syrian soldiers were killed and 20 others wounded on Wednesday when a suicide drone struck an area near the al-Yaarubiyah border crossing in northeastern Syria's Hasakah province, where army units had discovered a bomb-making facility and drone munitions, the defense authorities said.
In a statement carried by state television Al-Ikhbariya, the authorities said army forces uncovered a workshop used to manufacture improvised explosive devices and arm unmanned aerial vehicles. The site contained several drones that, according to the statement, were being prepared by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
They said that after the army began securing and sweeping the site, it was targeted by an explosive-laden drone launched by the SDF, triggering a powerful blast that caused the casualties among soldiers positioned in the vicinity.
The development came amid heightened tensions in northern and eastern Syria, following a fragile agreement between the Syrian interim government and the SDF that includes ceasefire arrangements, troop withdrawals, and the gradual return of state authority.
On Tuesday, the interim government declared a four-day ceasefire to support talks with the SDF over security arrangements and possible military integration.
Murhaf Abu Qasra, chief of the Syrian defense authorities, warned Wednesday that the ceasefire is at risk, accusing the SDF of carrying out arbitrary arrests in Hasakah province less than a day after the truce came into effect.
"Such arbitrary detentions of dozens of residents threaten the ceasefire in its entirety," Abu Qasra said, urging the SDF to immediately halt the arrests and release all detainees.
The SDF has yet to comment on the incident or the accusations. ■
