Suspected Turkish shelling kills Syrian army soldier

A member of the Damascus government forces was killed, and 4 others were injured including a father and two children as Turkish artillery striked the center of Zarkan district, northwest of Al-Hasakah canton, SDF-affiliated ANHA said.

In a separate attack, another suspected Turkish bombardment in the Sherawa sub-district of Afrin on Sunday injured two Syrian army soldiers, ANHA reported.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in recent months renewed threats of a large-scale military offensive into Northern Syria in a bid to create a “30 km safe zone” after two major incursions since 2018 failed to yield results against the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) which controls the area. 

The main component of the SDF, People’s Protection Units (YPG) is seen by Turkey as an offshoot of PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) that has been fighting Turkey for four decades and designated as terrorist by the United States and the European Union. 

But the US distinguishes between the SDF and the PKK and views the SDF as a powerful ally in the combat against Islamic state.

The US Centcom commander Michael Kurilla recently visited SDF leader Mazloum Abdi and expressed concern against Turkish threats; and when on Friday suspected Turkish drones killed a major SDF leader, Centcom conveyed solidarity.