INFOGRAPHIC - Terrorist PYD/PKK to withdraw from Syria’s Tell Rifaat

By Levent Tok, Mohamad Misto and Adham Kako

AZAZ/ANKARA (AA) - The PYD/PKK terrorist group is preparing to hand over the city of Tell Rifaat in Syria’s northern Aleppo province to the Al-Mutasim Brigades, a U.S.-backed faction of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), according to a Brigades spokesman.

Mustafa Seyjari told Anadolu Agency that, following months of negotiations, the PYD/PKK had agreed to withdraw from Tell Rifaat's Deir Jamal district, along with the villages of Malikiyah, Ayn Dakna, Kafr Nasih, Meryemin, Harbel, Shaykh Issa, Mir Anas, Minnig and Sevagir.

Tell Rifaat is located roughly 18 kilometers (11 miles) from the Turkish border.

Some observers believe the terrorist group hopes to consolidate its position in Aleppo’s Afrin district -- which it still controls -- after leaving Tell Rifaat to the U.S.-backed FSA faction.

Last year, the PYD/PKK -- with the help of Russian air support -- occupied Tell Rifaat in hopes of eventually linking it to Afrin.

The Turkey-backed FSA, however, later captured the nearby cities of Azaz, Jarabulus and Al-Bab, dashing the hopes of the terrorist organization.

*Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this story from Ankara.