At least 10 civilians were killed and 32 others were injured in reciprocal bombardments between the Turkish army and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Al-Bab city in Aleppo’s northern countryside.
According to local sources and social media reports, Turkish occupation troops and the SDF had been bombarding each other with rocket shells and heavy artillery for several hours since the morning of 2 February.
Several of the rocket artillery shells reportedly fell on residential zones in Al-Bab city, killing at least 10 civilians. However, as the mutual bombardment was ongoing, officials expect the death toll from to climb.
According to the reports, an unspecified number of families were forced to flee their homes as a result of the clashes.
This is the second attack by the Turkish forces on the north of Syria in a day.
On 2 February the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that, at an unspecified time overnight, its warplanes struck alleged “terror dens” in Derik, northern Syria, and Sinjar, and Karacak, located in northern Iraq.
In a statement published via Twitter, the Turkish defense ministry added that the sites “were used as bases by terrorists in northern Iraq and Syria.”
Iraqi security sources reported that Turkish warplanes flew over Makhmour, east of Mosul, where explosions were soon heard north of Sinjar in the Bara region.
The Turkish statement also added that its air raids targeted the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), both organizations considered terrorist groups by Ankara and which make up the bulk of the SDF.
Meanwhile, the Kurdish Counterterrorism Agency in Iraq announced that, late on 1 February, Turkish warplanes “bombed a site in which there were fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Mount Karacho, and bombed two other sites of these militants in the Suhaila borders in Syrian territory (Muldreza), and two other sites in Mount Shingal, and Baray Hasanur in Syria.”
The statement added that the bombings by Turkey produced several casualties and material damage.
Infringing of Syria’s territorial integrity, Turkey deployed its military in the northern regions of the war-torn country in October 2019, allegedly in a attempt to remove Kurdish militias from border areas.
