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Turkish military claims to have killed 25 Kurdish fighters

The Turkish military claims it has killed 25 Kurdish militants in airstrikes in northern Syria. T...
Newstalk
Newstalk

18.47 28 Aug 2016


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Turkish military claims to hav...

Turkish military claims to have killed 25 Kurdish fighters

Newstalk
Newstalk

18.47 28 Aug 2016


Share this article


The Turkish military claims it has killed 25 Kurdish militants in airstrikes in northern Syria.

The attacks came on the fifth day of what Turkey is calling Operation Euphrates Sword - a military campaign targeting Islamic State as well as Kurdish militias.

The military said the militants were killed around Jarablus, a Syrian town on the border with Turkey.

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At the same time, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said at least 35 civilians were killed south of Jarablus during fighting between Turkish-backed forces and rival Kurdish-aligned Syrian militias. 

It said 20 people died in strikes on Jeb el-Kussa, and another 15 were killed in a separate bombardment near al-Amarneh.

Four local fighters were also killed, the UK-based Observatory reported. The militias have said there are no Kurdish forces in the area.

Footage filmed by a Sky News cameraman in Jarablus shows Turkish-backed Syrian rebels firing on Kurdish positions, as well as Turkish tanks positioned inside Syria.

Turkish special forces, tanks and warplanes crossed the border into Syria last week to join Syrian rebels as part of a drive to remove Islamic State militants from Jarablus. Over the last five days, Turkey and its allies have consolidated their positions.

Some observers have raised concerns that the push into Jarablus will be used as a bridgehead to take on Kurdish-allied forces that have occupied positions in northern Syria.

The primarily Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) said Turkey's military had fired on a village near Kobani on Friday night, about 20 miles east of Jarablus.

And it said Turkey had also used heavy weapons to fire on YPG positions in the northwestern province of Afrin, about 65 miles west of Jarablus.

Turkey wants to stop Kurdish forces taking control of a line of territory along its southern border, fearing it could be used to support Kurdish militant group the PKK.

Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have already seized five villages near Jarablus from Islamic State. There were reports on Saturday that suspected Kurdish militants fired four rockets at Diyarbakir Airport in southeast Turkey.

Passengers and airport staff were taken inside the airport's terminal building for their safety, according to the Dogan news agency.

The target was a police checkpoint outside the VIP lounge, the agency added, and broadcaster NTV said the rockets landed on wasteland nearby.

There were no casualties and Diyarbakir governor Huseyin Aksoy said there was no disruption to flights.


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