Father, 3 children killed by Turkish bombing in Rojava: YPG

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A father and his three children were killed in a Turkish bombing near Ain Issa, northeast Syria (Rojava) on Tuesday night, an official confirmed to Rudaw. 

The four were killed in a Turkish attack on their house in al-Safawiyeh village, Siamand Ali, spokesperson for the People's Protection Units (YPG), told Rudaw.

The four were identified by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as Zidan Khalaf al-Issa, 54, and his three children: Ziyad, 12, and Muna and Huda whose ages were not given. Graphic photos showed the bodies of two young girls with serious head wounds. 

The mother and another daughter were injured and sent to hospital in Raqqa, according to the Rojava Information Center.

The village came under bombardment by heavy weaponry on Tuesday evening, reported Hawar News Agency (ANHA).

Ain Issa is located on the M4 highway, the main route that crosses northern Syria. In this area in October 2019, Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies launched a military offensive against Kurdish forces. The operation was ended the same month after ceasefires were brokered by Washington and Moscow. The truces saw Turkey take control of a stretch of territory along the border and the SDF redeploy south of the M4 with Russian and Syrian regime troops acting as a buffer.

The ceasefire has been violated numerous times. Late last year, there were frequent clashes between Turkish-backed Syrian militias and Kurdish forces, with casualties on both sides and among the civilian population. At the end of December, Russia deployed additional troops to keep the peace.

In March, a child was killed in shelling by Turkish-backed militias.