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On February 10, the Turkish Army and its proxies from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) captured the village of Deir Balut in the Jandaris district west of the city of Afrin, according to Syrian oppositions sources.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Army General Staff announced in an official statement that the Turkish Air Force (TAF) destroyed 36 positions of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in the Afrin area and “neutralized” 79 Kurdish fighters in a series of airstrikes on February 10.
From its side, the YPG announced that its fighters repelled a large attack of the Turkish-backed FSA on their positions in the village of Hec Bilal in the district of Sheikh al-Hadid west of Afrin. According to the Kurdish Hawar News Agency (ANHA), YPG fighters killed 25 fighters of the FSA and destroyed an armored vehicle of the Turkish Army while they were reppelling the attack on Hec Bilal.
Turkish activists believe that the Turkish Army and the Turkish-backed FSA will step up their ground operation in the Jandaris district in the upcoming days. Turkish forces are likely planning to turn Jandaris into a front line base that links the FSA-held areas in Idlib governorate with the positions of the Turkish Army north of Afrin.
Photos of the Turkish-backed FSA attack on Deir Balut:
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