15 Turkish-backed fighters killed by Kurdish forces in Syria

At least 15 Ankara-backed Syrian fighters were killed on Sunday after Kurdish-led forces infiltrated their territory in the country’s north, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.

Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which controls swathes of the country’s northeast, “infiltrated positions of the Turkish-backed” fighters in the Aleppo countryside, said the Observatory, which has a network of sources inside Syria.

"The two sides engaged in violent clashes” that killed 15 of the Ankara-backed fighters, the monitor said.

It added The Turkish-backed “Al-Amshat” Faction in Marae’ City fired heavy artillery shells on Tel Refaat City in areas of Kurdish forces in northern Aleppo countryside, targeting residential neighbourhoods in the city. However, no casualties were reported.

An AFP correspondent in Syria’s north said the clashes had taken place near the city of Al-Bab, where authorities said schools would be suspended on Monday due to the violence.