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Turkish army suffers deadliest day in Syria's Afrin
[Aljazeera] Turkey says it has suffered its deadliest day yet in northern Syria since launching its offensive against YPG Kurdish fighters there more than two weeks ago.On Saturday, eight Turkish soldiers were killed, according to a Turkish army statement. Some died after their tank came under fire from Syrian Kurdish forces. Turkey wants to push the YPG, which it says are "terrorists", out of Afrin to create a buffer zone along its southern border. YPG fighters targeted the Turkish army tank in Sheikh Haruz, northeast of Afrin, killing five soldiers. Three other soldiers were killed in fighting elsewhere in Afrin. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim promised to retaliate in a statement on Twitter. "They will pay for this twice as much. We have given the necessary response instantly, and we continue to do so," Yildirim said. Immediately after the attack at Sheikh Haruz, an air operation targeting YPG positions and weapon storages in the area was launched, the army said. Turkey's Operation Olive Branch began on January 20 along with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) to clear armed Kurdish groups and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) fighters from Afrin in northwestern Syria. Posted by: Besoeker 2018-02-04 |
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