Three Syrian soldiers were killed and six wounded in a Turkish airstrike on a military post in the countryside of Aleppo on Tuesday. State media reported the information citing a military source.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 17 fighters were killed in Turkish airstrikes on several checkpoints of Syrian government forces near the Turkish border. The agency did not specify whether the dead were Syrian government forces or Kurdish fighters.
The attacks were carried out near the Kurdish-held city of Koban. Clashes took place overnight between Turkish forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the area.
In a statement, the Turkish Ministry of Defense said that one soldier was killed in the clash. 13 terrorists neutralized in Ankara’s counter-attack inside Syria. Operations in the area are continuing.
Syrian state TV and news agencies said Turkish warplanes targeted the posts between 2:37 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. local time.
According to the news agency Reuters, the Syrian armed forces responded to the attack. Some Turkish military installations suffered material and human losses.
Turkey had no immediate comment on the attack.
Turkey has launched several military operations in northern Syria since 2016 and captured hundreds of kilometers of land. Turkey conducts such military operations mainly targeting the terrorist organization Kurdish YPG militia.
Turkish forces have intensified attacks on Kurdish-controlled areas in Syria since July 19.
The country is also supporting the opposition in the Syrian war. Damascus accuses Ankara of supporting ‘terrorist’ groups in Syria.
(August 17)