Five civilians from one family were injured as a result of the Syrian regime forces targeting a civilian car with a suicide drone in the city of Darat Izza, west of Aleppo.

The Syria Civil Defence rescue agency, also known as the White Helmets, stated that five civilians, including two children and a woman, all from one family, were injured following the attack on Tuesday, April 16.

It added that two civilian cars and the area of the popular market in the city of Darat Izza were subjected to similar attacks by suicide drones, without any injuries.

“Observatory 80” (Abu Amin), specialized in monitoring military movements in the area, issued warnings to all villages and towns of the northern Syrian countryside near the front lines, asking people to stay vigilant due to the heavy drone activity in the skies of the region.

Darat Izza city, adjoining the front lines with the regime forces’ control areas, is subjected to near-daily shelling like other front-line areas in the countrysides of Idlib, Hama, and Latakia.

An injured person after the Syrian regime forces targeted a civilian car with a suicide drone in the city of Darat Izza, west of Aleppo – April 16, 2024 (Syria Civil Defence)

On February 18, the Ministry of Interior in the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) asked residents in its controlled areas in Idlib not to approach the front lines and military zones, to preserve their lives from the regime forces’ fire, under the threat of religious and judicial accountability.

The northwest region of Syria is subject to the Moscow agreement, signed between Russia and Turkey, which has halted military operations, including battles and front-opening, since its signing on March 5, 2020.

Despite the agreement, the northern Syrian areas are subject to near-daily shelling and occasional raids by Russian aircraft at an irregular pace, concurrent with the daily presence of Russian drones in the region’s skies.

Casualties after the Syrian regime forces targeted a civilian car with a suicide drone in the city of Darat Izza, west of Aleppo – April 16, 2024 (Syria Civil Defence)

Suicide drones

Locally-made suicide drones have entered the battle lines in northwest Syria, and have become a weapon heavily used by Syrian regime forces and their allies since early 2024, adopting a new approach that endangers people’s lives and destroys their means of survival and livelihoods.

From the beginning of the current year until March 17, the Syria Civil Defence teams responded to 235 attacks on northwest Syria regions, by the regime forces and their allies, which resulted in the death of 18 civilians and injury of another 90 civilians.

In a previous conversation with Enab Baladi, “Observatory 80” (Abu Amin), which specializes in monitoring military movements, stated that the suicide drones are “FPV” drones, locally manufactured under Russian-Iranian supervision, and used by the Syrian regime forces.

He added that the forces using these drones are the Republican Guard, the 25th Division (known locally as Tiger Forces), and the Fifth Corps, noting that the regime has started to use suicide drones as an almost daily tactical weapon, after previously using them sparingly.