Islamist Groups in NW Syria Shell Kurdish Canton of Afrin With Mortars
Afrin (K24) - On Wednesday evening, Al Qaida's Syria franchise, The al-Nusra Front, and its local ally Ahrar Ash Sham bombarded the Yazidi Kurdish villages of Basûfan and Beiyê in Afrin Canton, 35 kilometers northwest of the city of Aleppo.
K24 reports from Afrin that these attacks came at night and intermittently continued into Thursday. The reporter added that there were no casualties, but in response, People's Protection Units (YPG) evacuated the two villages as a precaution to prevent loss of civilian life.
The area is known by locals as Mount Lelun, and is close to rebel-held Northern Aleppo villages and towns where Turkey wants to create a "safe zone."
The area is not new to attacks. Last August in an attack by Nusra militants, five civilians were killed, and a dozen of others were injured.
In another violent incident, last month three lawyers from Afrin who were traveling to the city of Aleppo were kidnapped by Al-Nusra. They remain in the hands of the militants.
(Mihemed Bilo contributed to this report from Afrin)