One injured in suspected Turkish drone strike near Kobane: Monitor

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A suspected Turkish drone strike injured one person near Kobane in northeast Syria (Rojava), a war monitor reported on Sunday.

The injured person was a “tunnel worker,” according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based war monitor, that blamed Turkey for the drone strike.

Hawar News Agency (ANHA), affiliated with the Kurdish administration in Rojava, reported that the strike was carried out by suicide drones, and injured Yahya Ibrahim, 24, who was transferred to hospital to receive treatment.

Turkish defense ministry has yet to comment on the attack.

Ankara frequently conducts strikes on targets in northern Syria on the grounds that they are linked with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and pose a threat to Turkey. 

Turkey has recently intensified its attacks on suspected PKK positions in Rojava and the Kurdistan Region. In March, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that this summer they will complete a zone in the northern Kurdistan Region that will “permanently resolve” security issues along the border. 

According to SOHR, Turkey has carried out 81 aerial strikes on areas controlled by Kurdish forces in northern Syria since January, resulting in 26 deaths.