Turkish artillery bombards Syria's Qamishli, casualties reported
QAMISHLI, Syria (Kurdistan 24) - Turkish warplanes and artillery bombarded areas inside and on the outskirts of the predominately Kurdish northern Syrian city of Qamishli, killing one civilian and wounding seven others, local sources said on Friday.
According to Kurdistan 24 correspondents in Qamishli, the Turkish army targeted the Zitouna neighborhood and the village of Si Kerka with heavy artillery and mortar shells, which killed one civilian and wounded seven others who were transferred to city hospitals for treatment. Local sources said three had been wounded there, though it is not known if they are among the seven listed above or if they are additional casualties.
Near the border, the Qudurbeg and Hileliye neighborhoods have also been shelled, killing at least one civilian, a woman named Bashira Mohammed Kaboush, and critically injuring at least four others in addition to material damage to several houses.
As the number of wounded being transferred from various border cities and towns to Qamishli hospitals continues to grow, medical officials are making urgent public appeals for donations of blood.
Local sources in Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain in Arabic) and Tal Abyad, both border towns, say that hospitals there are not functioning at all as they have been totally evacuated because the immediate vicinities are being targeted by airstrikes and mortar fire.
Reports of military casualties from both Turkish and Kurdish sides vary widely and reporting from either side contradicts the other.
The SDF claimed in a statement released on Friday that its fighters had killed 262 Turkish-backed Syrian militants since the Turkish attack began on Wednesday, including Turkish soldiers, while they lost just 22 fighters, in addition to the dozens of civilians who had perished.
Turkey’s Defence Ministry, however, said the Turkish military and its Syrian rebel allies have killed 277 Kurdish militants in total since the beginning of the operation, with only one Turkish soldier having lost his life.
Editing by John J. Catherine