Turkey is backing an operation that got under way this week by Syrian rebel groups to capture Islamic State-held territory in northern Syria at the Turkish border.
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The PYD’s armed wing also dominates the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an anti-Islamic State alliance that is backed by the US-led coalition. One of the commanders of the organisation was soon killed by sniper fire in what the SDF claimed was an assassination by Turkish intelligence.
The militants were killed around Jarablus, a Syrian town on the border with Turkey, the military said.
However, until the night of August 27, the targeting of Kurdish fighters in northern Syria had been limited to attacks by Turkish artillery, tanks, and infantry.
Hayyan, who runs a volunteer group in the province, refused to be identified further due to concerns for his and his family’s safety.
The strikes on Sunday left at least 50 other civilians injured, according to the observatory.
Meanwhile, the United Nations special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, appealed to the opposition to approve plans to deliver aid to rebel-held eastern Aleppo and government-held Aleppo through a government-controlled route north of Aleppo during a 48-hour humanitarian pause.
Turkish President Erodgan declared Turkey will go after Kurdish militias with the same energy as ISIL.
It was the first Turkish death reported in the campaign.
The Observatory said 11 buses were in Daraya to continue the evacuation.
The declaration comes a day after the evacuation of almost 5,000 residents and fighters from the suburb began. Russia, which backs Assad’s forces, has endorsed the proposal.
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The Britain-based Observatory said the bombardment targeted an area south of the former I.S. border stronghold of Jarabulus, which Turkish-led forces captured on the first day of the incursion. The U.N. said it has pre-positioned aid ready for delivery into Aleppo, to reach 80,000 people on the rebel side and some on the government side.
The Turkish-backed forces first seized the Syrian border town of Jarablus from IS militants before pushing south into areas held by Kurdish-aligned militias.
Ankara is anxious that Kurdish aspirations for a corridor linking two Kurdish enclaves in northwestern Syria could lead to an independent Kurdish state along its borders. Turkey, which is wrestling with Kurdish insurgents within its border – blamed the attack on Kurdish forces.
Rights groups say hundreds of civilians have also been killed in the clashes.
At least 20 civilians have been killed in strikes in northern Syria as part of a Turkish campaign that started in the area this week, a monitoring group reports.
Anadolu agency reported that the army had carried out strikes against a weapons arsenal and command post belonging to “terror groups“.
SDF spokesman Shervan Darwish said the airstrikes and shelling began overnight and continued Sunday along the front line, killing many civilians in Beir Koussa and nearby areas.
Turkey has warned that its offensive in Syria is targeted against the Kurdish militia as well as Islamic State (IS) jihadists, warning the YPG to retreat from its recent advances.
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Ankara wants to force the Kurds to withdraw to the east of Euphrates River, stopping short of establishing a corridor to link two Kurdish-led areas in north-western Syria. The government denies it uses barrel bombs.
