Turkish military retaliates against YPG fire in northern Syria

KİLİS

The Turkish military on July 17 retaliated against a harassment fire by the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) opened from northern Syria, shelling its positions in the region near the border, Doğan News Agency has reported.

The harassment fire was opened from the YPG-controlled region in northern Syria to the Turkish side of the border province of Kilis in the afternoon hours.

Artillery units stationed in the border immediately shelled YPG positions in the region within the rules of engagement.

Smoke rising from the shelled region was visible from the Turkish side.

Turkish-backed rebels clashed with Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militants from a U.S.-backed alliance in northwestern Syria on July 17 in escalating violence between the two sides, officials and a monitoring group said.

The clashes took place around the village of Ain Daqna and the nearby Menagh air base north of Aleppo, while Turkish forces stepped up shelling positions in other areas, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

“There are big clashes happening on the Ain Daqna axis, between us and the Turks and their mercenaries,” Rojhat Roj, a spokesman for the YPG militants said.

Mostafa Bali of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurdish and Arab force which is dominated by the YPG, claimed that some Turkishbacked rebels had been killed and captured, according to Reuters.