Turkish forces are seen near Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, Syria January 23, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
On November 20 afternoon, a series of indirect fire attacks targeted several bases of the Turkish military and security forces in Syria’s northern region.
Rockets and artillery rounds, which were reportedly fired from a strip of land in the northern Aleppo countryside jointly held by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), hit three bases near the towns of Kaljibrin, Dabiq and the Bab al-Salamah crossing on the border with Turkey.
The Turkish Ministry of Interior said in a statement that eight security personnel, including six officers, were wounded as a result of the attack on Bab al-Salamah base.
The attacks were most likely carried out by the SDF in response to a series of Turkish airstrikes that hit its territory in northern Syria in the early morning. The airstrikes killed more than 30 people, including several soldiers of the SAA.
The airstrikes were a part of a limited Turkish operation that also targeted positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (SDF) in northern Iraq. The operation, codenamed Claw-Sword, was launched in response to the November 13 Istanbul bombing that was blamed on the PKK and the SDF’s core component, the People’s Protection Units.
In a statement released after the deadly airstrikes, the SDF vowed to respond in a “powerful and effective” manner at the “right time and place”.
The Turkish military has already responded to the attack on its bases in northern Syria by shelling several towns and villages held by the SAA and the SDF in the northern Aleppo countryside. No casualties or material losses have been reported, so far.
The attacks on Kaljibrin, Dabiq and Bab al-Salamah bases will likely provoke Turkey, who may respond with a new series of airstrikes on SDF territory in northern Syria.
