In a separate attack, the Observatory had said at least 20 people were killed and 50 more wounded in Turkish air strikes on the village of Jub al-Kousa, also within an area held by the Kurdish-allied militia.
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On Saturday, clashes erupted for the first time between Turkish forces backed by tanks, and pro-Kurdish fighters in the town of Al-Amarneh, also south of Jarabulus. The region is controlled by militias aligned to the Kurdish-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a broad grouping which includes the YPG. A senior Turkish official said the military operation would continue until we are convinced that threats to Turkey are neutralised.
On Sunday, Turkish forces ramped up their offensive, with Turkish warplanes and artillery pounding areas held by pro-Kurdish forces close to a town liberated from IS this week. Turkish security sources said warplanes and artillery had hit Kurdish YPG militia sites near Manbij, a city south of the frontier town of Jarablus that had been captured by Kurdish-aligned SDF this month in a USA -backed operation. The Observatory said Turkish jets hit sites north of Manbij.
The move came after a Turkish soldier was killed and three were injured Saturday in a PYD rocket attack in northern Syria.
Turkish forces deny that any of their military vehicles have entered Kobani; rather, they say their forces are protecting construction vehicles as they dig the foundation for a border wall adjacent to the city.
Turkey’s campaign in northern Syria is being carried out in accordance with global law and the right of self-defense enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter. Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops. Washington backs the Kurdish-aligned SDF and YPG, seeing them as the most reliable and effective ally in the fight against Islamic State in Syria.
The United States and Turkey have both demanded that the Kurdish forces withdraw to the east bank of the Euphrates.
Turkey said the dead were 25 “terrorists” from the YPG and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), state-run Anadolu news agency said.
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Addressing a rally in the southern city of Gaziantep, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to combat the jihadists and the US-backed Kurdish fighters “with the same determination”.
