Heavy fighting was reported today between the Syrian Kurdish YPG and an unidentified faction of “insurgents” along the Turkish border, with reports of over 70 combatants killed in an attempt to seize a pair of villages in the area. Kurdish forces paraded the bodies of the slain through the streets.
The fighting centered on Ain Doqneh and al-Bayluniya, both villages which were captured recently like the Kurds. They reportedly retained control over the town, saying they killed more than 60 fighters from the faction. Reports also suggested at least 11 Kurds were slain in the fighting.
Turkey has complained bitterly about the presence of Kurdish factions along their border, calling them terrorists and occasionally shelling them. It is unclear if the factions pushing into the villages are among those armed by Turkey, but seems likely.
The Kurds have been fighting several factions in the area in recent months, including ISIS, al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front, and other Islamist factions that are nominally part of the “ceasefire” process, though that fighting had halted with the ceasefire, at least for a time.