Turkish soldier killed in sharpshooter fire opened from PYD region in Syria: Military

HATAY

REUTERS photo

One Turkish soldier in the Reyhanlı district of the southern province of Hatay was killed on March 22 by a sniper fired from a region controlled by the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria, the Turkish General Staff has announced.

Infantry private Hüseyin Koroç was initially wounded while he was on guard duty at the Bükülmez military station of the 2nd border regimental command after a sniper fired from the PYD-controlled region in Syria at around 8:45 a.m.

Koroç subsequently succumbed to his injuries despite medical efforts in the Reyhanlı State Hospital.

The military said in a statement that the Turkish Armed Forces units immediately retaliated to the fire as a part of its right to self-defense in international laws.

Turkey sees the PYD and its armed wing, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), as terrorist groups linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), while calling on the U.S. and other allies to not cooperate with the groups.