The Syrian Army said Friday that a senior terrorist linked to the PKK terror group arrived in the northern city of Al-Tabqah from northern Iraq to oversee military operations by the terrorist organization YPG/SDF, warning that the threat to the city of Aleppo and its eastern countryside remains active.
In a statement carried by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the army's Operations Command said intelligence sources confirmed the arrival of the "terrorist criminal Bahoz Erdal from the Qandil Mountains" to Tabqah city in Raqqa province to manage military operations for the SDF against Syrian forces and civilians.
Qandil Mountain has served as a headquarters for the PKK terrorist group in northern Iraq.
Despite mediation attempts aimed at removing the SDF threats in eastern Aleppo, the danger had not been eliminated, the statement added, accusing the two groups of preparing new attacks.
According to the statement, the groups have transferred a large number of Iranian-made drones toward the areas of Maskanah and Deir Hafer "in preparation for further assaults targeting Aleppo city and its eastern countryside."
The army also reported the arrival of new PKK-affiliated terrorists and remnants of the former regime to Tabqah to be redeployed to positions in Deir Hafer, Maskanah and surrounding areas.
The Operations Command said Syrian forces are working to protect civilians in areas used by the SDF and its allies as launch points for military operations, pledging to defend residents and safeguard Syria's sovereignty.
The army would not allow "cross-border terrorists arriving from Qandil" or remnants of the ousted regime to destabilize the country or threaten Syrian society, the statement said.
Separately, an intelligence source told Alikhbariah TV that Ali Kayali, also known as Mihrac Ural and dubbed by Syrians as the "Butcher of Baniyas," arrived in Tabqah with a group of former regime remnants to take part alongside the SDF in fighting the Syrian Army.
Kayali is accused of having carried out mass killings against civilians in the coastal town of Baniyas and the al-Bayda neighborhood in western Syria during the early stages of Syria's civil war.
On Monday, the Syrian Army sent additional forces to eastern Aleppo after detecting the arrival of more SDF forces and remnants of the ousted regime near the towns of Maskanah and Deir Hafer.
In March 2025, the Syrian presidency announced an agreement for the terrorist organization YPG/SDF integration into state institutions, reaffirming the country's territorial unity and rejecting any attempts at division.
In April 2025, Syrian authorities signed a separate agreement concerning the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, stipulating that both districts remain administrative parts of Aleppo city while respecting their local particularities.
The agreement included provisions banning armed manifestations, restricting weapons to internal security forces, and requiring the withdrawal of SDF military forces to areas east of the Euphrates in northeastern Syria.
However, authorities said the SDF has failed to comply with the terms of those agreements.
The Syrian government has intensified efforts to restore security nationwide since the ouster of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024, after 24 years in power.
