A drone attack targeted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s ancestral town of Qardaha on Friday with two projectiles, killing one person and lightly injuring another, Syrian state news agency Sana reported.

The strike came a day after Sana reported a drone attack on Salhab, another opposition-held town in northwest Syria, that killed a woman and a child.

The strikes on Qardaha and Salhab, which are around 35 kilometers apart, come amid a flare up in fighting in the northwest with shelling between Syrian government forces and opposition fighters on some front lines.

They came only days after the conclusion of Astana meetings attended by MPs and FMs of Syria, Russia, Iran, and Türkiye.

Arab News Agency (ANA) quoted Abdel Qader Azouz, advisor to the Syrian Presidency of the Council of Ministers, as saying that the Astana talks represent a test to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s wish to reach a settlement in Syria that leads to Turkish forces’ withdrawal and solutions to the pending issues between both countries.

Azouz affirmed on Wednesday Syria’s keenness on having normal ties with Türkiye given its geographical, strategic, and political weight.

He expressed hope that ties return to normal and disputes are resolved peacefully, saying these demands go in line with the UN principles in abstaining from using force.