Turkey-Backed Rebels Seize North Syria Border Villages

13 Turkmen Killed in Fighting Against ISIS

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Syrian Turkmen fighters received considerable aid from Turkey, and managed to seize three villages from ISIS along the border in the Aleppo Province.

The fighting in Aleppo Province left 13 Turkmen fighters dead over the past three days, members of the Sultan Murad Brigades. No casualty toll was reported on the ISIS side, though a US airstrike in the area destroyed one of their vehicles.

The villages being fought over are to the west of Jarabulus, the main ISIS holding in Aleppo Province. This territory has been contested at times by Kurdish forces, though Turkey has warned they will never allow the Kurds to take any of the territory across the Euphrates River.

This latest gain by the Turkmen is the first active maneuver by any of the Turkmen forces since Turkey shot down a Russian bomber over their territory last month. The Turkmen killed one of the pilots, and Russia responded with heavy shelling of the area.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.