Mohmmad Sio
17 January 2026•Update: 17 January 2026
ISTANBUL
The Syrian Army said Saturday evening that its forces have begun entering the city of Tabqa in Raqqa province in northeastern Syria from several sides and encircled the PKK-affiliated terrorists inside the Tabqa military airbase.
In a statement carried by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the army’s Operations Command said troops began advancing into Tabqa simultaneously from multiple directions, while tightening a siege on PKK terrorist militias positioned inside the Tabqa military airport.
These field gains come as the army expanded its control across the Raqqa countryside, entering new cities, towns and villages as part of continued deployments west of the Euphrates River following the withdrawal of the YPG/SDF terror group.
Meanwhile, amid heavy clashes with the Syrian Army in Tabqa, YPG/SDF terror elements have begun withdrawing from areas west of the Euphrates River in convoys.
The developments came as Ferhat Abdi Sahin, a ringleader of the YPG/SDF terror group targeted by the army's military operation west of the Euphrates, claimed that terror elements would withdraw to regions east of the river starting at 7 am local time (0400GMT).
In March 2025, the Syrian presidency announced an agreement for the terrorist organization YPG/SDF's integration into state institutions, reaffirming the country’s territorial unity and rejecting any attempts at division.
