Turkish soldier succumbs to wounds from YPG/PKK attack

ANKARA-Anadolu Agency

A Turkish soldier has succumbed to injuries sustained in a YPG/PKK terror attack last month in Syria, the country’s Defense Ministry said on Nov. 16.

The soldier was injured on Oct. 11 in Ras al-Ayn, northern Syria, amid the Turkish anti-terror operation there, said a ministry statement.

Launched on Oct. 9, Operation Peace Spring aims to eliminate the terrorist YPG/PKK 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 with Syria within 150 hours, and security forces from Turkey and Russia will mount joint patrols there.

The U.S.-backed SDF, a group dominated by the YPG, has been controlling some 28 percent of the Syrian territories, including the most of the 911-kilometer-long Syria-Turkey border.

Turkey deems the YPG the Syrian offshoot of the illegal PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization also by the United States and the EU.