DAMASCUS, SYRIA (0:30 A.M.) – A massive rebel offensive is looming in northern Syria after the Turkish Armed Forces bombarded nearly a dozen Kurdish-held villages on Tuesday evening.
Artillery shells landed on Tall Rifaat, Harbul, Ain Daqnah, Maranaz, Malkiyah, Qastal and Vilat Al-Qadi while Turkish reconnaissance planes hovered over the town of Sheikh Issa for hours, likely to provide coordinates of Kurdish targets and explore weak points in their defensive lines.
In response to the Turkish hostilities, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – the majority of whom are YPG fighters – exchanged fire with Turkish-backed rebels in northern Aleppo.
According to multiple reports, Turkey hopes to link the Idlib rebel heartland with the northern Aleppo pocket in order to strengthen the Syrian Opposition at the expense of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Menagh Airbase, Sheikh Issa and Tall Rifaat are said to be the initial targets of the Turkish-led offensive which is yet to begin in full force.
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