Turkey kills 160 to 200 Syrian Kurdish militants in airstrikes

Turkish jets carried out 26 airstrikes on 18 Syrian Kurdish YPG militant targets in northern Syria

The Turkish jets targeted positions in the villages of al-Hasiya, Um al-Qura and Um Hosh
The Turkish jets targeted positions in the villages of al-Hasiya, Um al-Qura and Um Hosh

Turkish jets on Wednesday unleashed more than 20 air raids against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurd-led group of militias north of Aleppo, Kurdish authorities and a war monitor said.

The jets targeted positions in the villages of al-Hasiya, Um al-Qura and Um Hosh, which the SDF had captured from Daesh, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said late on Wednesday.

Turkish jets carried out 26 airstrikes on 18 Syrian Kurdish YPG militant targets in northern Syria and killed 160 to 200 militants, the Turkish army said on Thursday.

Turkey, a main backer of the insurgency against President Bashar al-Assad, entered the Syrian conflict in August, using its armour and air power to help Free Syrian Army rebel groups take territory near the border held by Daesh.

The strongest force in the SDF is the Kurdish YPG militia, which Turkey regards as the Syrian wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which it has been fighting within its own frontiers for decades.

The YPG and PKK reportedly deny having direct links.

The Turkey-backed FSA groups have in recent weeks been pushing southwards from the frontier towards al-Bab, the last big town held by Daesh in northwest Syria.