SDF reveals toll of Turkish attacks on NE Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) — The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) revealed on Friday statistics regarding the Turkish attacks on north and northeast Syria.
Since Thursday morning, Turkish drones have been carrying out intense attacks targeting infrastructure in northeastern Syria, including gas, oil, electricity, and water stations.
On Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan vowed to avenge a suicide bombing attack in Ankara that took place on Sunday by targeting infrastructure in Syria and Iraq.
Fidan claimed that the bombers had trained in northern Syria before carrying out the attack.
The SDF said in their statement, “The Turkish occupation launched a broad-scale assault on northern and eastern Syria, using the recent attack in Ankara as a pretext. They claimed the attack originated from our areas, despite a lack of evidence to support their accusations.”
The statement added, “This cowardly and treacherous Turkish assault targeted civic services, economic hubs, energy facilities (oil and electricity), water resources, military installations, civilian structures, and inhabited villages.”
The SDF said that Turkey used more than 30 drones in its attacks, and that the strikes targeted areas in southern Afrin, Shahba region (Aleppo northern countryside), Manbij, Kobani, Ain Issa, Tel Tamr, Zirgan, Hasakah, Qamishli, Amuda, Tirbe Spiyeh (al-Qahtaniya), Chel Agha(al-Jawadiyah), and Derik.
The SDF added that these attacks resulted in the killing of 15 people, including eight civilians, six members of the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) tasked with protecting infrastructure facilities, and one fighter from the SDF, in addition to several injured individuals.
In the statement, the SDF called on the US-led Coalition and Russia to take a clear stance in response to the Turkish forces’ targeting of civilians and public service institutions.
Furthermore, the SDF emphasized that they will respond to any attack targeting the security and stability of northern and eastern Syria.
Earlier, the SDF announced the killing of five Turkish soldiers in two military operations in north of the town of Tel Tamr, north of Hasakah city, in retaliation for the Turkish attacks on northeast Syria.