Illustrative image.
On February 2, nine people were killed and more than 31 others were wounded when a salvo of rockets hit a local market in the Turkish occupied town of al-Bab in the northern countryside of Syria’s Aleppo.
The rockets were allegedly launched from a small pocket of land in the northern countryside of Aleppo held by Kurdish forces, namely the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Syrian Arab Army is present in the pocket along with a few units of the Russian Military Police.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights revealed that at least four of the rocket attack’s fatalities were Turkish-backed militants.
According to the London-based monitoring group, the death toll from the attack may rise in the upcoming few hours as many of the wounded are currently in a critical condition.
مجزرة كبيرة راح ضحيتها أكثر من 10 شهداء اثر قصف صاروخي استهدف مدينة الباب شرقي حلب pic.twitter.com/j5EJTKUM4b
— وليد الإدلبي (@waledALedlbe) February 2, 2022
مراسل #وكالة_زيتون يرصد اللحظات الأولية للقصف الصاروخي الذي استهدف مدينة الباب بريف حلب الشرقي
تصوير: Marwan As pic.twitter.com/Exy80cKhR4— وكالة زيتون الإعلامية – Zaitun Agency (@ZaitunAgency) February 2, 2022
Following the deadly rocket attack, the Turkish military and its proxies shelled Kurdish-held towns and villages in the northern and northeastern countryside of Aleppo. No losses have been reported, so far.
The rocket attack on al-Bab may have been a response by the SDF to the Turkish airstrikes that targeted al-Malikiyah electrical substation late on February 1. Just a few minutes after the rocket attack, the SDF released a statement confirming that four of its fighters were killed in the airstrikes on al-Malikiyah. The group vowed to respond.
Turkish forces and the SDF will likely further escalate their operations against each other in northern and northeastern Syria in the upcoming days.
- Casualties Reported After Turkish Airstrikes On Electrical Station In Northeastern Syria (Videos, Photos)
- ISIS Threat Still Alive In Syria
The battle is not Turks vs Kurds. The battle is far-right Turks, far-right Kurds, far-right Syrians vs far-left Turks, far-left Kurds, far-left Syrians. And the centrists want ceasefire.