BEIRUT (AFP) – Turkish air strikes on Syria border posts run by regime forces killed 17 fighters on Tuesday, according to a war monitor, prompting the Damascus government to threaten retaliation.
“Seventeen fighters were killed in Turkish air strikes that hit several Syrian regime outposts… near the Turkish border,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
It did not specify if the victims were affiliated with the government or Kurdish forces.
At least three Syrian soldiers were among the dead and six were wounded in the Turkish raids, said the official SANA news agency, citing a military source.
“Any attack on a military outpost run by our armed forces will be met with a direct and immediate response on all fronts,” SANA said.
The strikes took place near the Kurdish-held town of Kobane, the site of overnight clashes between Turkish forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Kurdish forces also struck inside Turkish territory overnight, killing one soldier, Turkey’s Defence Ministry said. “Thirteen terrorists were neutralised” in retaliatory attacks by Ankara inside Syria, the ministry said, adding that operations in the region were ongoing.
Turkey has stepped up its attacks in Kurdish-controlled areas of Syria since a July 19 summit with Iran and Russia failed to green-light a fresh offensive against Kurdish fighters viewed by Ankara as terrorists.
