Turkey arrests 7 SNA militants in Syria’s Afrin
AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – Turkish Intelligence arrested, on Thursday, six militants and a leader of the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), in Afrin countryside, northwest Syria.
“The Turkish Intelligence raided a headquarters of Ahrar al-Sharqiya faction, affiliated with the SNA, on the outskirts of the town of Jindires”, a military source of the SNA factions told North Press.
The source added that the intelligence had arrested three officers who defected from the Syrian government forces. However, the Ahrar al-Sharqiya faction smuggled them to Turkey.
The intelligence arrested six militants along with the faction leader on charges of dealing with other terrorist groups.
The source pointed out that the Turkish Intelligence had transferred the detainees, including the three officers of the government forces, to Turkish territory for interrogation through al-Hammam crossing, southwest of Afrin.
Afrin has been under the occupation of Turkey and the SNA factions since 2018 following a military operation dubbed “Olive Branch” against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of preserving Turkey’s 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.