“Our SDF forces conducted a targeted operation against a group of Turkish-backed militants in the village of Khirbet al-Sha’ir, Zarkan district. The operation resulted in the elimination of three mercenaries, with two others sustaining serious injuries,” the SDF said in a statement.
The Kurdish-led force said that the operation was carried out “in exercising our legitimate right to self-defense in response to ongoing attacks by the Turkish occupation and its affiliated mercenaries.”
The operation also comes amid a surge in Turkish attacks on the Kurdish self-administration which is set to hold local polls in August - a move Ankara claims poses a threat to its national security.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signaled a fresh offensive against Rojava if Kurdish authorities go ahead with the vote.
“Our SDF forces affirm that they will not hesitate to respond to the aggressions of the Turkish occupation against our people and territory, and they have the full legitimate right to respond to these aggressions,” the statement added.
Turkey accuses the Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the SDF, of being the Syrian front for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The PKK is a Kurdish group that has waged an armed insurgency against the Turkish state for decades in the struggle for greater Kurdish rights and is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara.
Turkey has carried out three military operations against Kurdish forces in northern Syria since 2016, invading key towns near the border such as Afrin, Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain), and Gire Spi (Tal Abyad).
