Unidentified warplanes fired flares over Deir Hafir and Maskanah east of Aleppo, Syria, and penetrated the sound barrier above Deir Hafir between 10:46 AM and 11:15 AM UTC on January 17, 2026, as the Syrian Arab Army dealt with Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militias booby-trapping the Shuaib Al-Zikr Bridge toward Tabqa, according to X posts by BarracudaVol1, AJArabic, and syrianFactCheck. Syrian army forces seized an armored vehicle abandoned by PKK militias in Deir Hafir, per omar_alharir on X. The army stated the agreement with SDF/YPG covers all areas west of the Euphrates and operations will continue until their full expulsion, as reported by BarracudaVol1. Syrian forces reported dealing with PKK members rigging the Shuaib Al-Zikr Bridge, after which the road to Tabqa will open, according to syrianFactCheck. PYD militia leaders and families fled Tabqa to Raqqa, while members from Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh were transferred from Tabqa schools to Raqqa, as stated by Al-Khabour correspondent via ivarmm on X. PKK militias deployed dozens of snipers on rooftops in Tabqa, per omar_alharir. Defections occurred from YPG ranks in Deir Hafir, likely involving Arabic elements, according to SimNasr. These developments follow the Syrian Arab Army's declaration at around 10:15 AM UTC of the region west of the Euphrates as a closed military zone after PKK targeting of forces, as previously announced via AlekhbariahSY.
