The leader of a US-backed militia in northeast Syria accused Turkey of violating the terms of two separate cease-fire agreements brokered by Russia and the United States today after an alleged Turkish drone struck his native village of Helenj, near the town of Kobani, killing three women last night.

Mazlum Kobane, the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), called the drone attack that took place around 7 p.m. local time “a continuation of the policy of massacres against the Kurds.” He added via Twitter, “Stopping Turkish violations and the policy of ethnic cleansing is a responsibility and duty of America and Russia, within the framework of the October agreements and international law.” 

Kobane was referring to the accords brokered in the aftermath of Turkey’s Oct. 9 “Operation Peace Spring” assault against northeast Syria that resulted in its occupation of a swath of territory between the towns of Tell Abyad and Ras al-Ain and the withdrawal of US forces from the Syrian-Turkish border, including from Kobani.

In a rare if oblique rebuke of America’s NATO ally, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed his sympathies to families of the "innocent civilians and those wounded" in the airstrike via Twitter just hours after the attack occurred.