Turkish troops stationed at the Syrian border hit People's Protection Units (YPG) terrorists Wednesday in the Ayn al-Arab area east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria, killing at least 14 terrorists.
Artillery fire killed four terrorists and six more terrorists were injured in the shelling early in the day, Anadolu Agency (AA) said. Turkish-made T-155 Fırtına howitzers fired from the Syrian border line in southeastern Turkey's Şanlıurfa province, the agency added.
Later in the day, the Ministry of National Defense said Turkish troops responded to harassment fire targeting a border outpost in the Suruç district of southeastern Şanlıurfa province, bordering northern Syria's Ayn al-Arab, killing at least 10 terrorists.
On Sunday, the Turkish military shelled YPG positions in the Zor Magar area to the west of Ayn al-Arab district, also known as Kobani.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday reiterated Turkey's determination to conduct an anti-terror operation in northern Syria on the east of the Euphrates, saying preparations and plans for an offensive against the YPG terrorist were complete.
Meanwhile, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is dominated by YPG terrorists, claimed that attacks by Turkey have led to a temporary halt in an offensive against Daesh in eastern Syria's Deir el-Zour region. Despite their dazzling advance against Daesh starting from late 2016, whilr also receiving intense air support from the coalition in the meantime, the SDF has spent months trying to eradicate the last remaining Daesh enclave comprised of a couple of towns and villages near the border with Syria.
Turkish officials have repeatedly cited Daesh's expansion as a way to legitimize the takeover of eastern Syria by PKK terrorists and their Syrian affiliates.
YPG is the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) — the Syrian affiliate of the PKK terror group, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S., the EU and NATO. The PKK has been fighting the Turkish state for the last 40 years in a conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives.
Turkey considers the YPG's presence on its border with Syria a grave threat to its national security.
In response to the YPG and Daesh threats near its border, Turkey has carried out two cross-border military campaigns in the past two years. The Turkish military and Free Syrian Army (FSA) captured bordering Jarablus, al-Rai and al-Bab districts from the Daesh terrorist group through Operation Euphrates Shield launched in August 2016. On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to push the YPG and Daesh terrorists from northwestern Syria's Afrin, liberating the region on March 18 with the help of FSA forces.