Turkish warplanes, artillery hit targets in Syria

The Kurdish YPG militia fighting in northern Syria claimed on Sunday on its Twitter account that “tens of civilians” were “massacred” in Turkish air and artillery attacks on Bir Al-Kusa, a Syrian village near the Turkish border, in the fifth day of Ankara’s cross-border campaign that aims to target ISIS and Kurdish militants.

According to the Observatory, Turkish artillery fire and air strikes on Jeb el-Kussa village killed at least 20 civilians and wounded 50 others.

At least 25 terrorists were killed after Turkey carried out air strikes in retaliation to attacks by the PYD on Turkish armed forces backing the Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighting against DAESH in the city of Jarabulus, northern Syria. In the process, the YPG has extended its hold over much of northern Syria, creating a Kurdish self-rule zone that stretches for some 250 miles along the border area.

There was no comment from USA officials about the escalation of fighting between the two sides-both of which are US allies.

Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Gaziantep on Turkey’s border with Syria, said: “The Turkish army has intensified its military operation following the death of a Turkish soldier”.

Rights groups say hundreds of civilians have also been killed in the clashes.

The battle presented a thorny situation for military planners of the USA -led coalition, which has launched sorties and provided reconnaissance and logistical support to both the Kurdish fighters and the Free Syrian Army, the primary belligerents on Saturday. But it also is aimed at US -allied Kurdish forces that have gained control in recent months of most of the territory along the Turkey-Syria border.

The Turkish soldier was killed and three more wounded on Saturday in a rocket attack by Kurdish militia on two tanks taking part in an offensive against the pro-Kurdish forces south of Jarabulus.

Ankara said it had killed 25 Kurdish “terrorists” and insisted the army was doing everything possible to avoid civilian casualties. “That will likely increase tension”.

In the aftermath of last week’s battle for the border city of Jarabulus, a US -supported Kurdish militia said it would heed Vice President Joe Biden’s warnings and withdraw to areas east of the Euphrates river to avoid confrontations with the Turkish-backed fighters who had wrested control of the area from Islamic State jihadists.

A US-backed Syrian rebel faction, Faylaq al-Sham, tweeted a statement saying it had “liberated” the village of al-Amarna, eight kilometres south of Jarablus, from Kurdish forces.

The air force launched air-strikes in the region on Saturday and it remains unclear whether these latest air strikes were targeted at ISIS or its foes, the Syrian Kurdish fighters.

Turkish-backed fighters will move south of Jarablus, toward Manbij and beyond, he said.

In a separate incident Saturday, Kurdish militants fired four rockets at the airport in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir, without causing casualties, the Dogan news agency said. Turkey on Wednesday sent tanks across the border to help Syrian rebels retake the key Islamic State-held town of Jarablus and to conta. Turkey is a leading backer of the rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad. The territory in brown is held by IS, the territory in green by Syrian Arab rebels (or “the mujahideen”, as the tweet describes them) and the territory in yellow by Kurdish forces.

The operation, labeled Euphrates Shield, is also aimed at pushing back USA -allied Kurdish forces.

Ankara says that the YPG has failed to stick to a promise to return across the Euphrates river after advancing west this month despite guarantees given by US Vice President Joe Biden on a visit to Ankara on Wednesday.

The escalation against the neighbourhood comes after the evacuation of Daraya, a Damascus suburb, following a deal struck with the government after a gruelling bombing campaign and a tight siege.