FILE PHOTO: Turkish soldiers seen at the border town of Akcakale © Reuters / Murad Sezer
On September 16, an indirect fire attack targeted a key base of the Turkish military located to the east of the town of Azaz in the northern countryside of Syria’s Aleppo.
No casualties were reported after the attack, which was allegedly carried out by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The group controls a swath of land to the south of Azaz. The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) also maintains a series of positions there.
The attack on the Turkish base in Azaz coincided with a blast at the nearby Turkish-occupied city of Azaz. The blast killed four people and wounded at least six others. The causes of the explosion remain unknown.
The SDF might have targeted the Azaz base and Afrin city in response to a Turkish drone strike that targeted one of its vehicles near the town of Manbij in the northern Aleppo countryside a day earlier. Two fighters of the group were killed and two others were wounded in the strike.
Tensions have been mounting between Turkey and the SDF since Turkish-backed militants launched a series of attacks against the group in northern and eastern Syria earlier this month under the pretext of supporting Arab tribes which were waging an uprising in Deir Ezzor.
The last attacks in the northern Aleppo countryside could provoke a serious response from Turkey, which is always looking for a pretext to step up attacks on the SDF.
