BY AGENCIES
Turkish airstrikes on Syria border posts run by Bashar Assad regime forces killed 17 fighters on Tuesday, according to a war monitor.
“Seventeen fighters were killed in Turkish airstrikes that hit several Syrian regime outposts … near the Turkish border,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said.
It did not specify if the victims were affiliated with the regime or the PKK terrorist group’s Syrian branch YPG.
At least three Syrian regime soldiers were among the dead and six were wounded in the Turkish raids, said the official SANA news agency, citing a military source.
“Any attack on a military outpost run by our armed forces will be met with a direct and immediate response on all fronts,” SANA said.
The strikes took place near the YPG-held town of Ain al-Arab (Kobani), the site of overnight clashes between Turkish forces and the YPG forces.
YPG forces also struck inside Turkish territory overnight, killing one soldier, Türkiye’s Defense Ministry said.
The Defense Ministry also said Tuesday that 13 suspected YPG militants were killed after Turkish artillery retaliated against a deadly attack on a Turkish border post near the town of Birecik in the border province of Şanlıurfa. The ministry said operations in the region were continuing.
Provincial Governor Salih Ayhan told Anadolu Agency (AA) that a soldier was killed and four other soldiers were wounded in the attack on the Çiçekalan border post early on Tuesday.
In a separate announcement on Twitter, the ministry said five other YPG militants were also killed by Turkish artillery systems. It said they were preparing for an attack on Turkish-controlled areas of northern Syria and had opened “harassment fire” on the region.
Türkiye has stepped up its attacks in YPG-controlled areas of Syria since a July 19 summit with Iran and Russia failed to greenlight a fresh operation against YPG fighters viewed by Ankara as terrorists.
A Turkish drone strike on Tuesday killed at least four people in the YPG-controlled region of Hassakeh, the latest in a spate of similar attacks.
The YPG says it has counted at least 13 of its members killed in Turkish attacks since July.
Türkiye has launched a series of cross-border operations targeting YPG forces and the Daesh terrorist group since 2016, but such operations have rarely resulted in the killing of Syrian regime fighters.
Regime forces have deployed in areas controlled by YPG fighters near the border with Türkiye as part of agreements intended to stem a fresh Turkish operation.
Türkiye has fervently opposed regime leader Bashar Assad, backing opposition calling for his removal and opening its doors to refugees.
But last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu called for reconciliation between the Syrian regime and the opposition.
Daily Sabah