SDF claims retaliation for deadly Kobane attack, Turkey denies involvement
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Tuesday said it launched attacks in retaliation in response to an airstrike blamed on Turkey that killed a family of nine near Kobane. Ankara denied the allegations.
The SDF on Monday said that at least nine members from a single family were killed in a Turkish airstrike south of the symbolic Kurdish city of Kobane in northern Syria.
“In retaliation, our forces launched targeted operations against Turkish occupation military bases and mercenary fortifications on multiple fronts,” the SDF said in a statement, adding that the operations west of Qere Qozaq bridge inflicted “severe damage.”
“The exact number of enemy casualties remains unconfirmed,” the statement noted.
But Turkey denied responsibility for the strike, with its communications directorate - affiliated with the Turkish presidency - stating on Tuesday that “the claims in some press and publications organs” regarding the Monday airstrike on the family “are not true.”
“These operations are planned with the utmost sensitivity in order not to harm civilians. The aim of the operations is to neutralize terrorist elements,” the statement added.
On Monday, SDF chief Mazloum Abdi urged Syria’s interim government to “bear its responsibility” for the attack against the family.
Earlier in March, the SDF reported that Turkey and Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) militants have “intensified attacks” on the strategic Tishreen Dam and Qere Qozaq bridge in northern Syria. Kobane holds prominence for being the scene where Kurdish fighters, backed by the US, famously repelled an Islamic State (ISIS) assault in 2015.
The SDF has served as a primary ground partner to the US-led coalition in the fight against ISIS. Last month, Washington said it brokered a ceasefire between the SDF and Ankara, but Turkey denied agreeing to the deal and clashes have continued.
Turkey and the SNA are also threatening Kobane, where Kurdish fighters of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) with US backing famously repelled a brutal Islamic State (ISIS) offensive in January 2015.
But Ankara considers these Kurdish fighters as terrorists. It claims that the YPG is the Syrian front for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been engaged in a decades-long conflict with the Turkish state.
The SDF on Monday said that at least nine members from a single family were killed in a Turkish airstrike south of the symbolic Kurdish city of Kobane in northern Syria.
“In retaliation, our forces launched targeted operations against Turkish occupation military bases and mercenary fortifications on multiple fronts,” the SDF said in a statement, adding that the operations west of Qere Qozaq bridge inflicted “severe damage.”
“The exact number of enemy casualties remains unconfirmed,” the statement noted.
But Turkey denied responsibility for the strike, with its communications directorate - affiliated with the Turkish presidency - stating on Tuesday that “the claims in some press and publications organs” regarding the Monday airstrike on the family “are not true.”
“These operations are planned with the utmost sensitivity in order not to harm civilians. The aim of the operations is to neutralize terrorist elements,” the statement added.
On Monday, SDF chief Mazloum Abdi urged Syria’s interim government to “bear its responsibility” for the attack against the family.
Earlier in March, the SDF reported that Turkey and Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) militants have “intensified attacks” on the strategic Tishreen Dam and Qere Qozaq bridge in northern Syria. Kobane holds prominence for being the scene where Kurdish fighters, backed by the US, famously repelled an Islamic State (ISIS) assault in 2015.
The SDF has served as a primary ground partner to the US-led coalition in the fight against ISIS. Last month, Washington said it brokered a ceasefire between the SDF and Ankara, but Turkey denied agreeing to the deal and clashes have continued.
Turkey and the SNA are also threatening Kobane, where Kurdish fighters of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) with US backing famously repelled a brutal Islamic State (ISIS) offensive in January 2015.
But Ankara considers these Kurdish fighters as terrorists. It claims that the YPG is the Syrian front for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been engaged in a decades-long conflict with the Turkish state.