At least one civilian was killed in northwestern Syria on Saturday in a rocket strike carried out by the PKK terrorist group's Syrian branch YPG, according to reports from the ground.
Another civilian was wounded in the terrorist attack on displaced Syrians in the town of Afrin. The strike was carried out by the YPG terrorists holed up in the Tal Rifaat area, which has been under the terrorist group's occupation for over six years.
The YPG often mounts attacks on Jarablus, Afrin and Azaz from the Manbij and Tal Rifaat areas.
Civilians in the area have begun removing debris from two homes that were demolished in the attack.
The PKK is a designated terrorist organization in the U.S., Türkiye and the European Union, and Washington's support for its Syrian affiliate has been a major strain on bilateral relations with Ankara. The U.S. primarily partnered with the YPG in northeastern Syria in its fight against the Daesh terrorist group. On the other hand, Türkiye strongly opposed the YPG's presence in northern Syria. Ankara has long objected to the U.S.' support for the YPG, a group that poses a threat to Türkiye and that terrorizes local people, destroying their homes and forcing them to flee.
Under the pretext of fighting Daesh, the U.S. has provided military training and given truckloads of military support to the YPG, despite its NATO ally's security concerns. Underlining that one cannot support one terrorist group to defeat another, Türkiye conducted its own counterterrorism operations, over the course of which it has managed to remove a significant number of terrorists from the region.
Furthermore, local people living in areas held by the YPG have also long suffered from its atrocities, as the terrorist organization has a notorious record of human rights abuses including kidnappings, recruitment of child soldiers, torture, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement in Syria. The YPG has forced young people from areas under its control to join the terrorist group with what it calls "compulsory conscription."
Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful counterterrorism operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.
Türkiye has ensured the voluntary return of an estimated 530,000 people to the safe zones in Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said most recently on Friday.
"We have ensured the voluntary return of approximately 530,000 people to the safe zones we created in Syria," Erdoğan said at an event in the capital Ankara.
More than 3.7 million Syrians currently reside in Türkiye, making it the world's top refugee-hosting country. Following the start of a bloody civil war in Syria, Türkiye adopted an "open-door" policy for Syrians fleeing persecution and brutality.
Erdoğan said: "We have thwarted attempts to create a terror corridor along our southern border with the operations of Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch, Claw, Peace Spring, Spring Shield and Claw-Lock."
Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock in April to target the PKK terrorist group's hideouts in northern Iraq's Metina, Zap and Avasin-Basyan regions near the Turkish border.
It was preceded by Operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle launched in 2020 to root out terrorists hiding out in northern Iraq and plotting cross-border attacks in Türkiye.