Turkish planes bomb Shingal and Rojava, says official

07-07-2017
Rudaw
Tags: Turkish airstrikes Shingal PKK YPG
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DUHOK, Kurdistan Region – Turkish warplanes bombed villages in the Shingal region and in Rojava, Kurdish areas of northern Syria, Friday evening, an official confirmed to Rudaw. 

The bombings were targeting forces affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Peoples Protection Units (YPG), according to Ashti Kocher, head of security, Asayesh, in West Dijla, which includes Shingal, Snune and Rabiha.   

A Peshmerga commander in the area said the areas bombed were near the Kurdistan-Syria border and were not close to Peshmerga fronts. The Peshmerga did not suffer any damage in the bombings, the commander stated. 

No casualties have been reported. 

The Shingal region is home to a large Yezidi population.  

Turkey frequently carries out airstrikes on alleged PKK locations in the Kurdistan Region's mountains, where the group has its headquarters. 

In April, a number of Peshmerga were killed in Turkish airstrikes on Mount Shingal. At the time, Turkish President Recept Tayyip Erdogan said the Peshmerga were not a target of the bombings, but that operations "in Shingal and northern Syria will continue."

Ankara believes that the Kurdish forces in northern Syria, the YPG, are an extension of the banned PKK. Turkish forces and their Syrian allies have been clashing with YPG forces recently in the western Rojava canton of Afrin. There were reports of several casualties earlier this week

Last updated at 11:45 pm

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