Turkish airstrikes kill 27 Syrians
Last Updated on October 27, 2024 5:20 am
A 24-hour Turkish military operation and drone strikes have killed 27 civilians in Syria, a Syrian war monitor said on Friday. AFP reported from Beirut, Lebanon.
Turkey stepped up its military operation after a deadly attack on a government defense company near Ankara on Wednesday killed five people and wounded 22.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Turkish forces had dramatically increased their air and ground attacks in northern and eastern Syria since Thursday.
The monitor added that four warplanes had also carried out 45 drone strikes, targeting water, electricity and gas stations and other infrastructure.
The Turkish government said it was “highly likely” that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) carried out the attacks.
The Defense Ministry said in a statement that airstrikes were carried out hours later on terrorist sites in northern Iraq and Syria.
A total of 32 terrorist installations were successfully destroyed.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said in a statement on Thursday that Turkish airstrikes killed 12 civilians and wounded 25 in northeastern Syria.
The SDF, which reported the Turkish offensive, said that in addition to populated areas, warplanes and UAV drones targeted checkpoints of the Kurdish internal security forces, including bakeries, power plants and oil facilities.
The US-backed SDF led an operation to drive Islamic State group jihadists from Syrian territory in 2019.
Turkish troops and allied rebel factions control parts of Syria after a series of cross-border operations since 2016. Most of the operations have targeted the SDF.