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Turkish troops, backed by air coverage, have been deployed in northern Iraq amid violent clashes with fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Arabs Today news website reported Monday.
“The forces are now stationed in the sub-district of Sidakan, northeast of the Kurdistan Region’s capital, and have already set up fixed barracks in the border triangle between Iraq, Syria and Turkey,” Krmanj Izzat, the mayor of Soran city, said.
Turkish military and allied Syrian forces marched into the center of the northern Syrian town of Afrin Sunday, raising their flags and shooting in the air in celebration nearly two months after launching their offensive on the Kurdish enclave. The advancing troops faced little resistance from the Kurdish militia that retreated and vowed to turn to guerrilla tactics.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the capture of Afrin, previously controlled by the Kurdish militia known as the People’s Defense Units, or YPG.
Turkish forces say they have encircled the Kurdish city of Afrin in northwestern Syria, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency, marking a major milestone in a military offensive that began in January.
Turkey, a NATO ally, launched an operation targeting Kurdish groups — some of them backed by the United States — in Afrin province to clear the border area of militias it considers to be terrorist organizations.
More than 300 Turkish army men and Ankara-backed militants have been killed in clashes with the Kurdish fighters in Afrin region in Northwestern Aleppo in the last 4 days, a media outlet reported on Saturday.
The Kurdish-language Hawar news reported that at least 313 Turkish soldiers and Ankara-backed militants have been killed within the framework of Operation Olive Branch against the Kurdish militias in Jandaris region in the last 4 days.
Fifty-nine Turkish soldiers and 261 members of the pro-Turkey Free Syrian Army (FSA) have died in fighting in the Afrin region of Syria since hostilities began in January, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The death toll rose from the 44 Turkish soldiers reported by the London-based organisation four days ago. Turkey had put the number at 41 on Friday.