Damascus, Jan 24 (IANS): Nine Turkish soldiers were killed and 11 others injured in attacks by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) targetting Turkish bases in northern Aleppo province, a war monitor said on Friday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the SDF strikes hit bases on Thursday in the al-Hoshriya area. The SDF also struck a military gathering in the village of Atshana, south of Manbij, with casualty figures from that incident still unconfirmed, the Observatory said.
The Observatory said the SDF attacks appeared to be in retaliation for continued ground and air assaults by Turkish forces and allied factions against SDF-held areas in northern and eastern Syria.
On Thursday, Turkish warplanes reportedly bombed areas around the Tishreen Dam near Manbij, causing explosions and smoke plumes, though there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Turkish artillery also targetted two villages west of Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), the Observatory said, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Observatory said 483 people, including 51 civilians, have been killed since an escalation of hostilities between the SDF and Turkish-backed factions began on December 12, 2024.
Last week, the top commander of SDF said that his fighters do not intend to surrender their weapons or dissolve their ranks but are willing to negotiate their incorporation into Syria's future military structure.
In an interview with Al Arabiya on Saturday, Mazloum Abdi warned that any approach other than a joint agreement would "lead to major problems."
"We haven't decided to give up our arms or disband," Abdi said, noting that the SDF is open to talks about forming "a single national army."
He added that the SDF proposed creating a joint military committee to study the issue and emphasised his opposition to "two separate armies in Syria."
Abdi remarked that SDF representatives were not invited to discussions led by Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa regarding the integration of various factions into Syria's new Defense Ministry.
The SDF, bolstered by US support and dominated by Kurdish units, controls extensive areas in northern and eastern Syria.
An SDF delegation met with al-Sharaa in Damascus on December 30 for the first time since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's government on December 8, 2024.
Amid the surprise advance led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham forces into Damascus in early December, Turkish-backed factions launched an offensive against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, forcing the SDF to withdraw from certain areas.
Turkey views the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which forms the core of the SDF, as an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).