The military headquarters of moderate opposition forces Al-Sham Legion were targeted in five airstrikes carried out by unidentified aircraft, the opposition alliance Syrian National Army (SNA) said Tuesday.

In a statement via Al Mohrar Media, the legion claimed that a Russian fighter jet carried out the attacks in the town of Bassouta, south of Afrin.

There were no casualties because the group's members were out for training purposes, it added.

Afrin was largely cleared of YPG/PKK terrorists in 2018 by Turkey's counterterrorism offensive Operation Olive Branch, but the terrorist group still targets the region to disrupt the peace established by Turkish forces.

It is one of the three successful counterterrorism operations that Turkey has launched since 2016 across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents. The other two are Euphrates Shield (2016) and Peace Spring (2019).

Local people living in areas held by the YPG have long suffered from its atrocities, as the terrorist group has a notorious record of human rights abuses in Syria, ranging from kidnappings, recruitment of child soldiers, torture, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement.

A recent United Nations report stated in May that the YPG has been recruiting children to fight among its ranks and that the terrorist organization has enlisted at least 400 children in the past two years.

Turkey aims to prevent the YPG from establishing a de facto autonomous region in northern Syria, which would border Turkey and connect the so-called northwestern Afrin "canton" to Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobani, and Jazeera in the northeast.

Ankara describes this as a "terror corridor" that poses a grave security threat to its national security, pointing to its possible impact on the PKK’s activity around Turkish borders.

In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.