Late on February 4, one of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) units deployed in the Kurdish-held pocket in the northern Aleppo countryside targeted a pickup truck of the Turkish-backed Mu’tasim Division near the town of Marea with an anti-tank guided missile.
According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a militant was killed and two others were wounded as a result of the missile attack.
The casualties were identified as Ali Abu al-Hasan, a commander of the Mu’tasim Division, his brother Mustafa and a militant called Mahmod al-Ahmad al-Abbas. It remains unclear who of them was killed.
The missile attack was likely a response to Turkish artillery strikes that targeted the Kurdish-held towns of Mara’naz, Shawargha and al-Irshadiyah in the northern countryside of Aleppo a day earlier. Three service members of the SAA were wounded in the strikes.
A few hours before the SAA missile attack, Kurdish forces, namely the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), shelled the town of Marea. A few civilians were reportedly wounded.
In the last few days, SAA units in Kurdish-held areas in northern and northeastern Syria were targeted on several occasions by Turkish forces who were exchanging blows with the SDF.
Source: South Front
