TAL ABYAD, Syria

A YPG/PKK terror attack in northern Syria on Thursday killed one civilian and injured another.

YPG/PKK terrorists targeted the village of Molla Barho, south of Tal Abyad province, one of the areas they continue to occupy south of the M4 highway. Following the attack, about 100 civilians living in the village fled to Hammam Turkmen village.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

Ankara has reached agreements with both the US and Russia to force the YPG/PKK terror group to withdraw from the area.

However, the YPG/PKK has continued to carry out attacks in Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn, despite pulling out of areas under a deal reached by Turkey and the US in October 2019.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.

*Writing by Busra Nur Cakmak in Ankara