Tensions Escalate: Mutual Targeting between Türkiye and SDF in Northern Syria

Mutual targeting between Türkiye and SDF in northern Syria

Mutual targeting continued between the Turkish forces and the factions loyal to them in what is known as the “Syrian National Army” and the “Syrian Democratic Forces” (SDF) on the lines of contact in northern Syria.

On Friday, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced the killing of 3 SDF members who were spotted in the “Euphrates Shield” operation area under the control of Turkish forces and factions in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, northern Syria.

The ministry vowed, in a statement, that “there will be no safe place for terrorists near Turkey’s southern borders.”

On the other hand, 5 members of the “National Army” loyal to Turkey were injured when the forces of the “Manbij Military Council” targeted a military checkpoint with a thermal missile in the village of Mohsenli, south of Jarabulus, within the “Euphrates Shield” area.

A statement by the SDF media office stated that among the injured were 3 who were seriously injured, and that during the attack the military point with the checkpoint and the weapons in it were destroyed.

He added that this operation came in response to the escalation by the Turkish forces and factions loyal to them in the SDF areas in northern and northeastern Syria in recent weeks.

A distributed photo of the Afrin bomber after his arrest

He pointed out that Manbij witnesses almost daily bombardment with heavy weapons from the bases of the Turkish forces stationed in Jarabulus.

The Turkish Ministry of Defense counted the killing of 215 SDF members since the beginning of this year.

The media and public relations advisor at the Turkish Ministry of Defense, Zeki Akturk, said in a press conference on Thursday that “the number of terrorists who have been eliminated since the first of last January until today has reached 359, including 215 members of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (the largest). SDF components), and 144 members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in northern Iraq.”

He added that 207 people, including a member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, were arrested while trying to enter the country illegally in the last week, and 2,495 others were prevented from infiltrating the country since the beginning of the year.

In parallel, Turkish security sources said that the military police of the Syrian Interim Government arrested, on Friday, Ahmed Haj Omar, a member of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, in an operation carried out in coordination with Turkish intelligence.

The sources said that Haj Omar was trained by the “terrorist organization” (Kurdish Protection Units – Kurdistan Workers’ Party) on using explosive devices and carrying out assassinations, and he shipped hand-made explosives in the city of Manbij and its environs between 2022 and 2023.

The sources added that he was preparing to carry out attacks against the Turkish Armed Forces and the “Syrian National Army” in their areas of presence in northern Syria.

She indicated that during the search in the home of “the terrorist Hajj Omar,” a remote-controlled explosive device was found, ready for use in assassinations and bombings.

In another operation, members of the Syrian National Army, in cooperation with Turkish intelligence, arrested a member of the Kurdish Units who was leading a group to carry out bombings in the “Olive Branch” area in Afrin, called Hassan Ali.

Security sources said that the “terrorist” Hassan Ali was responsible for a bombing using a bike packed with explosives, which occurred in Afrin last Tuesday, in which 3 people were injured, and he was arrested while trying to escape to Manbij.

2024-02-09 12:17:36
#Israeli #operation #deep #city #Nabatieh #targets #Hezbollah #official