The Media and Communication Department at Syria's Ministry of Defence stated the terrorist PKK militia targeted Syrian Arab Army forces in Debsi Afnan west of Raqqa with suicide planes, killing two soldiers, according to a statement shared on X by Raqqa_SL between 11:16 AM and 11:45 AM UTC on January 17, 2026. US F-15 fighter jets flew over Deir Hafir east of Aleppo at coordinates 36.162211, 37.693689 during the same 29-minute period, as reported by BarracudaVol1 on X and geo-confirmed by users including GeoConfirmed. The Operations Authority of the Syrian Arab Army declared the region west of the Euphrates a closed military zone after PKK forces targeted army units while implementing an agreement, calling on civilians to stay away from PKK sites and remnants of SDF allies, per a post by AlekhbariahSY on X. An official control map shows stabilization of the new front near Dibsi Afnan in southwest Raqqa countryside after Syrian government forces entered the town 25 km from SDF-held Tabqa, with the Tabqa area marked as the new military zone under SDF control following SDF withdrawal from eastern Aleppo countryside today, according to QalaatAlMudiq and a control map shared by omar_alharir on X. These reports follow Syrian Arab Army advances into Deir Hafir and Maskanah east of Aleppo earlier on January 17 after SDF withdrawal, as well as dealing with PKK booby-traps on routes toward Tabqa, per prior statements from army sources including syrianFactCheck.
