Turkey hits YPG/PKK terror targets in northern Syria

By Omer Koparan and Esref Musa

AZAZ, Syria (AA) - Turkish army on Sunday hit YPG/PKK terror group targets in northern Syria on Sunday.

A large number of terrorists were “neutralized” after Turkish howitzer hits terror targets in Azaz and Mare districts, local sources said on condition of anonymity due to security reasons.

Separately, a Free Syrian Army (FSA) member was killed, and three others injured in a clash with YPG/PKK terror group on Saturday night.

The Turkish military also struck terror targets in Syria’s Tal Rifat over the past three days,.

- Situation in Tal Rifat

For the last three years, Tal Rifat has been occupied by the YPG/PKK, which has dubbed the territory between Tal Rifat and Manbij as the “Shahba Canton.”

The YPG/PKK occupied Tal Rifat in 2016 in hopes of linking Afrin, a city in northwestern Syria, to areas under its control east of the Euphrates River, thus establishing a zone of influence along Syria’s border with Turkey.

Syria’s Al-Bab district, however, which is located between Tal Rifat and Manbij, falls within Operation Euphrates Shield’s area-of-operations, thus disrupting the YPG/PKK’s sought-for territorial link.

Some 250,000 refugees from Tal Rifat and its outskirts have taken up temporary residence in the opposition-held city of Azaz, located adjacent to the Euphrates Shield zone.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- recognized as a terrorist group by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people. The YPG/PYD is the group's Syrian branch.