3 civilians die, 2 hurt in northern Syria terror attack

By Esref Musa and Kemal Karadag

TAL ABYAD, Syria (AA) – Three civilians were killed in a terrorist attack in northern Syria on Tuesday, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said.

Two more civilians were injured in the bomb attack in Tal Abyad city, the ministry said in a statement.

The wounded have been transferred to a hospital in Turkey’s southeastern Sanliurfa province’s Akcakale district, it added.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

Ankara has reached agreements with both the US and Russia to force the YPG/PKK terror group to withdraw from the area.

However, the YPG/PKK has continued to carry out attacks in Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn, despite pulling out of areas under a deal reached by Turkey and the US in October 2019.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk in Ankara