14 civilians injured in YPG/PKK terror attack in Syria's Jarablus

A bomb attack carried out by the YPG/PKK terror group injured 14 civilians, including children, in Syria’s Jarablus town, the Turkish Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

The ministry said on Twitter that at least 14 civilians, four of whom are in critical condition, were injured when the terrorist group detonated two explosive-laden motorcycles in the town center of Jarablus.

The YPG/PKK terror group is targeting settlement areas under the control of the Syrian National Army (SNA), which fought alongside the Turkish forces in the Turkish-led anti-terror operations in northern Syria.

Turkey has carried out two cross-border operations targeting the area west of the Euphrates River – Operation Euphrates Shield launched in August 2016 and Operation Olive Branch in January 2018 – to drive terrorist groups, including the YPG/PKK and Daesh, from its borders.

Jarablus was liberated from Daesh terrorists by Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield in September 2016. The operation, which concluded on March 2017, was meant to clear terrorists from areas of Syria bordering Turkey.

While the country liberated northwestern territories from Daesh, it also prevented the YPG/PKK from establishing a de facto autonomous region in Syria connecting Afrin in the northwest to Ayn al-Arab (Kobani) and Jazeera in the northeast, which Ankara describes as a "terror corridor" posing a grave security threat to its national security.

In addition to these two operations, Operation Peace Spring, launched on Oct. 9, aimed to eliminate terrorist YPG/PKK elements from northern Syria east of the Euphrates River in order to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.

On Oct. 22, Ankara and Moscow reached a deal under which YPG/PKK terrorists would pull back 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) south of Turkey’s border, and security forces from Turkey and Russia would carry out mount joint patrols there.

But pockets of deadly terrorists have defied the pullback.

Presidential Spokesman İbrahim Kalın on Tuesday said that the terrorist group continues its attacks in the region despite a generally stable environment provided by Turkey and called on all international actors in the region to take a clear stance against terrorism.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.