IED blast in Syria’s Afrin wounds SNA leader
AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – An IED exploded on Sunday in the city of Afrin in northwestern Syria wounding a leader of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA).
The IED was planted in the car of Abdurrahman al-Jassem, an SNA leader, in the al-Zidiyah forest in Afrin. The explosion led to the amputation of al-Jassem’s legs and one of his hands, a source told North Press.
Afrin has been under the occupation of the Turkish forces and their affiliated Syrian opposition factions, also known as the Syrian National Army (SNA) since March 2018 following the so-called “Olive Branch” military operation to push away the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of protecting “Turkish national security.”
The operation caused the displacement of about 300,000 of the original inhabitants of the Kurds of Afrin who have been taking shelter in 42 villages and five camps in Aleppo northern countryside, locally known as Shahba region, since then.