Six civilians lost their lives and more than a dozen were injured in an attack by the PKK terrorist group’s Syrian wing, the YPG, on northern Afrin province on Thursday.
They were the latest in years of attacks on the northwestern enclave controlled by the Syrian opposition.
The terrorist organization staged its attacks from the city of Tal Rifaat, which it continues to occupy.
One civilian was killed and two others injured when the terrorist group targeted their car in the Maryamayn village on the outskirts of Afrin.
The attack was followed by six rockets targeting the streets of the Political Boulevard, Ziyadiye and Raju in Afrin district center. According to initial reports, three civilians lost their lives and eight others were injured.
Following first reporting of four deaths, the number has risen to six in the later hours.
Afrin was largely cleared of YPG terrorists in 2018 through Turkey's counterterrorism offensive Operation Olive Branch, and was set on a path toward normalization with the restoration of several hospitals, schools and other vital facilities.
Despite all these positive developments, the YPG continues to target residential areas and civilians in Afrin by using Tal Rifaat, located in southeast Afrin, as a base. Local people living in areas held by the YPG have long suffered from its atrocities, as the terrorist organization has a notorious record of human rights abuses, ranging from 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 its forces within the so-called "compulsory conscription in the duty of self-defense."
