You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Syria-Lebanon-Iran
YPG claim downing Turkish drone amid heavy clashes in Afrin
2018-02-13
[Rudaw] Kurdish forces in Afrin have shot down a Ottoman Turkish drone (unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV) in Afrin on Monday, the YPG media office reported. There are heavy festivities ongoing in the self-autonomous region of northwest Syria.

"This is a Ottoman Turkish UAV shot down by fighters in Afrin," the YPG media office stated in a video showing images of wreckage.

Rudaw cannot independently verify the information.

Ottoman Turkish planes shelled northwest and west areas of Afrin on Monday morning and there have been festivities between the YPG and the Ottoman Turkish army with its Syrian proxies in multiple parts of the canton, according to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Ottoman Turkish tanks shelled Nabi Huri and areas around Sheikh Horuz village in Bulbul district, northern Afrin, according to a local source who explained that Sheikh Horuz village is divided between the two battling forces.

Brusk Hasaka, spokesperson for YPG in Afrin, said in a statement on Monday that in the past 48 hours the Ottoman Turkish army and their Syrian allies have seen great "losses" at the hands of the YPG who downed two helicopters, destroyed a number of tanks, and blew up a weapons depot.

As of Sunday, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
 has confirmed 31 casualties amongst it ranks. According to the Observatory, 152 Kurdish fighters have been killed as well as 165 from the Ottoman Turkish-backed Syrian forces.

At least 160 civilians have been killed, according to Afrin health officials. The Observatory has documented 74 civilian deaths.

Turkey denies targeting civilians. Ottoman Turkish chief of staff Gen. Hulusi Akar said on Sunday during his visit to Hatay region that they "would not harm innocent people and civilians."

Akar was accompanied by Ottoman Turkish military commanders and the aim of their visit was to "investigate and examine the Operation Olive Branch [developments] in Hatay region," read a statement from Ottoman Turkish Armed Forces (TAF).

"The main objective of the operation is to bring peace, security and stability to Afrin and the bordering area, save the people of the region from the oppression of the bully boyz and return our Syrian brothers to their homes in a safe way," claimed Akar.

The YPG’s Hasaka, responding to the general’s visit, said "the aim of the visit was to give directions and draw new military plans for his field commanders because they had not made any of the military progress they had been tasked to achieve."

Turkish army says 31 soldiers killed in Syria operation

[AlAhram] Another 143 Ottoman Turkish soldiers were maimed in the operation dubbed "Olive Branch" which began on January 20 against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in the western region of Afrin, a statement said.

Some 1,369 "terrorists" had been neutralised during the operation, the army said, referring to those killed but also those captured or maimed.

It was not immediately possible to verify this figure.
Posted by:trailing wife

00:00