At least two Syrian army soldiers were killed in clashes with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the Raqqa countryside, the Defence Ministry said on Thursday.
The SDF attacked posts in the Madan area on Wednesday night and seized several positions following “violent bombardment with various types of weapons”, the ministry said. The attack left two soldiers dead and others injured, it added.
Troops responded with a counter-attack, regaining control of the positions from the attacking forces, it said.
“We hold the SDF responsible for this treacherous and almost daily renewed attack on the Syrian Arab Army positions,” the ministry said.
The SDF said it attacked positions that were used by the extremist group ISIS to launch drone attacks on its forces in the Ghanem Al Ali desert, east of Raqqa.
“The region has been subjected to a series of attacks this week by factions affiliated with the Damascus government, in parallel with the activity of ISIS members who have actually used those positions to carry out their terrorist attacks,” the SDF statement said.
It alleged there was “direct co-ordination between several Damascus government factions and ISIS terrorists in targeting our military positions”.
There have been frequent clashes between the SDF, a key component of the fight against ISIS in Syria, and the forces under the government that was installed following the overthrow of Bashar Al Assad's regime last year.
The US-backed SDF has resisted pressure to surrender control of large areas in the east and north-east to the new government and to integrate its fighters into the army created by Damascus.
SDF commander Mazloum Abdi signed a deal with President Ahmad Al Shara in March to integrate Kurdish military and civilian institutions into the central government. However, the deal has yet to be implemented as Mr Abdi is demanding decentralised governance of the country, which the authorities in Damascus reject.
