Syria conflict: Turkey ‘kills 25 Kurdish militants in air strikes’

The Turkish military claims it has killed 25 Kurdish militants in air strikes in northern Syria. The attacks came on the fifth day of what Turkey is calling Operation Euphrates Sword - a military campaign targeting Islamic State as well as Kurdish militias. The military said the militants were killed around Jarablus, a Syrian town on the border with Turkey. The army said it was taking all the measures it could to avoid any civilian deaths At the same time, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said at least 35 civilians were killed south of Jarablus during fighting between Turkish-backed forces and rival Kurdish-aligned Syrian militias.

At least 20 civilians were killed and 50 others wounded by Turkish artillery fire and air strikes on Sunday morning at Jeb el-Kussa.

Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

It said 20 people died in strikes on Jeb el-Kussa, and another 15 were killed in a separate bombardment near al-Amarneh. Four local fighters were also killed, the UK-based Observatory reported. The militias have said there are no Kurdish forces in the area. Footage filmed by a Sky News cameraman in Jarablus shows Turkish-backed Syrian rebels firing on Kurdish positions, as well as Turkish tanks positioned inside Syria. Turkish special forces, tanks and warplanes crossed the border into Syria last week to join Syrian rebels as part of a drive to remove Islamic State militants from Jarablus. Over the last five days, Turkey and its allies have consolidated their positions. Some observers have raised concerns that the push into Jarablus will be used as a bridgehead to take on Kurdish-allied forces that have occupied positions in northern Syria.

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