4 Syrian National Army fighters martyred in YPG/PKK ambush

TAL ABYAD, Syria

At least four Syrian National Army (SNA) members were martyred in a YPG/PKK ambush amid Turkey's ongoing Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria, SNA sources said Friday.

According to the sources, terrorists masquerading as fellow fighters ambushed the SNA forces and took villagers hostage in Dadat village in the district of Tal Abyad.

Entering the village to take security precautions, the SNA fighters were attacked by YPG/PKK terrorists. At least four SNA members were martyred during the clash before retreating.

SNA forces later re-entered the village, clearing it of terrorists.

The newly launched anti-terror operation liberated 11 villages in Tal Abyad town and Ras al-Ayn city from terrorists on Thursday.

The Syrian National Army (SNA) entered territory east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria on Thursday to support Turkey's Operation Peace Spring.

The SNA forces -- composed of various opposition groups fighting against the Bashar al-Assad regime of Syria -- entered the areas occupied by the YPG/PKK terrorists as part of the Turkey’s fresh anti-terror operation.

Turkey on Wednesday launched Operation Peace Spring east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria, to secure its borders and Syria’s territorial integrity, by eliminating terrorist elements and to ensure the safe return of Syrian refugees.

Turkey has said the terrorist group PKK and its extension the YPG/PYD constitute the biggest threat to Syria’s future, jeopardizing the country’s territorial integrity and unitary structure.

Ankara has also stressed that supporting terrorists, under the pretext of fighting Daesh is unacceptable.

Turkey has a 911-kilometer (566-miles) border with Syria and it has long decried the threat from terrorists east of the Euphrates River and the formation of a “terrorist corridor” there.

Turkey plans to resettle two million Syrians in a 30-km-wide (19-miles) proposed safe zone in Syria, stretching from the Euphrates River to the Iraqi border, including Manbij. However, the presence of terror groups such as the PKK, PYD, and YPG risk its formation.

Ankara has freed an area of 4,000 square km (1,544 square miles) in Syria from terrorist groups in two separate cross-border operations.

Since 2016, Turkey has conducted two major military operations in northwestern Syria -- Operation Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch -- to eradicate threats from the Daesh and the YPG, which is the Syrian branch of the terrorist group PKK.

The two operations were in line with the country’s right to self-defense borne out of international law, UN Security Council resolutions, especially no. 1624 (2005), 2170 (2014) and 2178 (2014), and under the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter, while being respectful of Syria’s territorial integrity. During Operation Euphrates Shield, Turkish forces neutralized 3,060 Daesh terrorists.

Turkey has suffered greatly from Daesh attacks inside the country.

More than 300 people have been killed in attacks claimed by Daesh in Turkey, where the terrorist group has targeted civilians in suicide bombings and armed attacks in recent years.

In its more than 30-year terror of campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

*Writing by Havva Kara Aydin