Ahead of Idlib assault, Kurdish forces ambush and kill rebel commander in Afrin

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – In heavy clashes on Monday evening, Kurdish forces led an assault on a checkpoint one kilometer from Afrin city, which reportedly led to the death of at least six Turkish-backed rebels, including a commander of the 23rd division.

Since Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels groups took control of Afrin on March 18, in a campaign termed Operation Olive Branch, the People’s Protection Units (YPG) said it would continue to target forces backed and settled there by Turkey.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the clashes took place in the area of Taranda village, where at least six fighters were killed, amidst more information about human losses among both parties.  

The pro-Kurdish Hawar News Agency (ANHA) reported that the 23rd division and the Northern Storm Brigade were targeted, but that it was unclear how many were killed or injured.

In the clash, a commander of the 23rd division, Ahmad Samir Brier, was killed. 

Initially, the 23rd division and Afrin’s Military Police denied the commander was killed, but in a later message on its official Facebook page, the group confirmed the death blaming the ‘PYD,’ the political arm of the YPG, and the ‘PKK,’ the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. 

On Tuesday morning, the YPG confirmed in a statement they carried out three different attacks on Monday night, killing 15, including the 23rd Division’s commander Brier. 

An additional video, released by the YPG press office, showed an attack on the Levant Front base in the Khalta village, killing six. “

“In the aftermath of our operations, intensified movement of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) of the Turkish invasion army had been observed in the area,” the YPG claimed.

The attack came as the Syrian government and its allies, Russia and Iran, warn of an impending attack on the neighboring province of Idlib.

The YPG on Monday claimed that in the month of August, they had killed 50 Turkish-backed rebels, including two commanders, and seven Turkish soldiers in 18 different operations.

“As YPG and YPJ forces, we will continue our effective struggle and actions, especially against the Turkish invasion army but also against all those who attack our revolutionary achievements that have been created with great cost,” the YPG said.

The YPG also claimed responsibility for an attack in Afrin’s Rajo district on 31 August, in which two members of the Levant Front, Nizar al-Khali and Khaleed al-Mifleh, were killed.

According to SOHR, the YPG have killed 112 rebels and soldiers in insurgent attacks since March. 

Editing by Nadia Riva