Kurdish forces in northern Syria announced Thursday the deaths of eight fighters following Turkish airstrikes that targeted their positions at Al-Hol camp, which houses families of jihadists.

The Turkish strikes "left dead eight of our fighters responsible for protection of the camp," the US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said in a statement.

Al-Hol, home to more than 50,000 people, is the largest camp for displaced people who fled after the SDF led the battle that dislodged Islamic State group fighters from the last scraps of their Syrian territory in 2019.

The SDF, the Kurds' de-facto army in northeastern Syria, warned Wednesday that relatives of jihadists might try to flee the camp.

Among Al-Hol's detainees are more than 10,000 foreigners from dozens of countries.

The overcrowded camp is also home to displaced Syrians, and Iraqi refugees.

Ankara launched a campaign of air strikes across parts of Iraq and Syria on Sunday as part of Operation Claw-Sword, following a bombing in Istanbul on November 13 that killed six people and wounded 81.

Turkey blamed the bombing on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is designated a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States.

Kurdish groups deny any involvement in the Istanbul attack.

Since Sunday, Turkish air strikes in Syria have killed 35 Kurdish fighters, 23 Syrian soldiers and a Kurdish news agency journalist, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The British-based war monitor said Turkish artillery on Thursday also targeted Kurdish positions in the northern provinces of Hassakeh and Aleppo, along with a Syrian government position east of Kobane, along the Syria-Turkey border.

No casualties were recorded in these strikes, it said.

Turkey has threatened a ground operation, and the United States along with Russia, a major Syrian regime ally, have called for de-escalation.

Iran defends strikes on northern Iraq, in letter to UN
Tehran (AFP) Nov 24, 2022 - Iran told the UN on Thursday that it had no choice but to act in self-defence by striking Kurdish rebel groups in northern Iraq, state media reported.

The Islamic republic has launched a series of cross-border missile and drone strikes on Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups, based in Iraq, which it blames for stoking protests back home over the death of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini.

"Iran recently carried out operations against terrorist groups in northern Iraq as it had no other choice than to use its natural right to defend itself in the framework of international law to protect its national security," Tehran's permanent representative to the UN wrote to the United Nations Security Council.

"The terrorist groups have recently intensified their activities and have illegally transferred large quantities of arms to Iran with the intention of staging terrorist operations," the letter read, according to state news agency IRNA.

Iranian-Kurdish groups have long inhabited areas of northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, previously waging an armed insurrection against Tehran.

Iran has repeatedly accused them of fomenting unrest in the country since Amini's death in September.

"They use Iraqi territory to plan, support, organise and carry out actions" against Iran, the letter said.

Tehran demands that "the perpetrators of terrorist crimes be tried by Iranian courts, the closure of command centres of terrorist groups and their training camps, and the disarmament of armed elements in northern Iraq," the letter said.

On Tuesday, Tasnim news agency reported that Iran's Revolutionary Guards carried out their latest cross-border missile and drone strikes, this time targeting the Kurdistan Freedom Party, one of the groups based in northern Iraq.

More than a dozen people were killed in similar strikes on Iraq's Kurdistan region in September.

In the letter, Iran's UN representative pointed to the need for an Iraqi military presence at the border with Iran, whilst affirming "full respect for Iraq's security and stability and commitment to its territorial integrity and sovereignty".

Iraq had said Wednesday it planned to redeploy federal guards along its border with Iran and Turkey.

Related Links
News From Across The Stans

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Pakistan names former spymaster as new army chief
Islamabad (AFP) Nov 24, 2022
Pakistan named a former spymaster as the next military chief on Thursday, a position long considered the real power in the nuclear-armed Islamic nation of 220 million people. Syed Asim Munir, currently quartermaster general, will replace General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who is retiring this month after serving as chief of army staff since November 2016. Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told reporters President Arif Alvi signed off on the government's nomination on Thursday evening, ending months ... read more