Turkish forces are seen at Mount Barsaya in northeast of Afrin, January 28, 2018 / Khalil Ashawi / Reuters
On August 31, an indirect fire attack targeted a base of the Turkish military located in the northern outskirts of Hazwan town in the northern countryside of Syria’s Aleppo.
According to the London-based Syrian observatory for Human Rights, the attack was launched from an area in the northern Aleppo countryside jointly controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian military. The attack inflicted some material losses on the base, which received several direct hits. However, no casualties were reported.
In response to the attack, the Turkish military and its proxies shelled several SDF-held towns and villages in the northern Aleppo countryside.
This was the third Turkish base in northern Syria to be shelled in a week. On August 24, an indirect fire attack targeted a base near the village of al-Ghuz in the northern Aleppo countryside. Later on August 26, a base of the Turkish military located near the town of Kurmaza in the northern countryside of Raqqa came under attack.
The Afrin Liberation Forces, a Kurdish guerilla group that is reportedly to be a proxy of the SDF, was likely behind the recent attacks.
Recently, the SDF intensified its attacks on the Turkish military bases in northern Syria in response to a series of drone and artillery strikes that targeted its territory. The strikes killed 27 people, including seven children and two women, over the last month.
Turkey could use the repeated attacks on its bases in northern Syria as a pretext to launch a new military operation against the SDF. The Turkish military and its proxies have been preparing for such an operation for well over two months now.
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