UPDATE - SDF detonates strategic bridge in Syria’s northern Aleppo countryside

UPDATES WITH DETAILS, REVISES HEADLINE

By Lina Altawell and Rania Abushamala

ISTANBUL (AA) - The terrorist organization YPG/SDF detonated a strategic bridge in the northern countryside of Aleppo on Tuesday, shortly after the Syrian Army declared three towns closed military zones, Syrian media reported.

Alikhbariyah TV said that the bridge was blown up in Am Teenah village, north of Aleppo city.

According to the broadcaster, the bombed bridge separates the SDF-controlled areas from those held by the Syrian government.

It came shortly after the Syrian Army warned against SDF mobilization in the area and called for all armed groups there to withdraw east of the Euphrates River.

The army said that three towns in the area have been declared closed military zones effective immediately, vowing to take all necessary measures to prevent the area from being used as a base for attacks.

The channel said that the SDF also targeted the vicinity of the village of Humaima, east of Aleppo city, using drones.

In response, the Syrian Army shelled SDF positions in the vicinity of Deir Hafir city, a military source told Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

“The army also thwarted an attempt by SDF elements to plant explosives and blow up a bridge linking the villages of Rasm al-Imam and Rasm al-Karoum near Deir Hafir, east of Aleppo,” another military source told SANA.

Since last week, the SDF has shelled residential neighborhoods, civilian facilities, and Syrian Army positions in Aleppo, killing 24 people, wounding nearly 130 others, and displacing about 165,000 residents from the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud districts, according to official figures.

In March 2025, the Syrian presidency announced an agreement for the SDF’s 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.