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Western-backed Syrian forces make new gains in Aleppo
ALEPPO – Kurdish-Arab alliance of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) made new gains against Islamist rebels in Syria’s northern Aleppo province, military sources reported on Tuesday.Subsequent to clashes with militant fighters of al-Nusra Front (al-Qaeda wing in Syria) and the Islamic Movement of Ahrar al-Sham, the western-backed SDF units captured several villages in the northern countryside of Aleppo. “Our forces liberated the town of Sheikh Issa and a number of villages in its suburbs north of Aleppo after clashes with the Islamist fighters of Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham,” SDF spokesman Ahmed al-Omar told ARA News. At least 18 Islamist fighters were killed in the clashes, while the SDF lost four members in Tuesday’s operations. This comes just a day after the Kurdish YPG fighters and SDF allies took control of the strategic Tel Rafaat town –one of the main supply routes for the radical Islamist groups in northern Aleppo. The SDF advance comes amid continuous shelling by the Turkish army on the Kurdish positions in northern Aleppo. Turkey’s bombardment on the Kurdish units was considered as a direct support to Syrian Islamist groups, including Nusra Front–al-Qaeda wing in Syria. Posted by: badanov 2016-02-17 |
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