(Beirut) Turkish airstrikes in northern Syria on positions held by regime forces and Kurdish forces killed three people on Sunday, a Syrian NGO said.
Posted at 9:30 a.m.
The strikes targeted Syrian army and US-backed Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) positions near the town of Kobani, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. man (OSDH).
The three people killed in these raids were wearing military uniforms, according to the NGO based in Great Britain, but which has a large network of sources in Syria.
The OSDH reports several injuries, some of them serious, but does not give exact figures.
In the morning, Turkish forces were targeted by fire from Kobané, not far from the border, added the NGO.
At war since 2011, Syria is fragmented due to the intervention of multiple groups and foreign powers in the conflict.
Between 2016 and 2019, the Turkish army launched three major operations in northern Syria targeting Kurdish militias and organizations.
Regime forces have deployed in areas controlled by Kurdish fighters, under agreements designed to stem a new Turkish operation.
Since July, Turkish drones have increasingly struck areas controlled by Syrian Kurdish forces on one side, which control most of the northeast of the country, according to the OSDH and Kurdish officials, but it is rare that Turkish operations on the border lead to the death of pro-regime soldiers.
In mid-August, the official Syrian news agency Sana confirmed the death of at least three Syrian soldiers in Turkish strikes near the border.
Turkey, whose soldiers are present in areas of northern Syria, has been threatening since May to launch a major offensive against the SDF, which it considers “terrorists”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed that his army was “ready” at any time for a new offensive.
Ankara says it wants to create a 30 kilometer “security zone” on its southern border.
After the outbreak of the war in Syria, which left more than half a million dead, Turkey fiercely opposed the regime of Bashar al-Assad, posing as an unwavering support for Syrian rebel groups.