PodcastThree Turkish soldiers killed in northeastern Syria
Three Turkish soldiers have been killed in an area covered by Turkey's military operation in northeastern Syria dubbed "Operation Peace Spring." The soldiers were killed when a car bomb was detonated during the soldiers’ road controls, the Turkish Defense Ministry said.
Duvar English
Three Turkish soldiers were killed in a car bomb attack in northeast Syria on Jan. 16, the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement.
It said the attack occurred during a roadside security check in the region, where Turkey carried out a military operation in October dubbed “Operation Peace Spring.”
Reuters said the attack was at the town of Suluk, 10 km southeast of the Syrian town of Tel Abyad, bordering Turkey.
Turkey on Oct. 9, 2019 launched Operation Peace Spring to clear its border from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) – a group considered by Ankara as terrorists due to it being the Syrian affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is a designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union.
On Oct. 22, 2019, Ankara and Moscow reached a deal under which the YPG would pull back 30 kilometers south of Turkey’s border and security forces from Turkey and Russia would mount joint patrols there.
Ankara earlier blamed a series of deadly car bomb attacks in the region on the YPG.