Illustrative image, fighters of the Afrin Liberation Forces. Via the Hawar News Agency (ANHA).
The Afrin Liberation Forces (ALF) has claimed responsibility for several recent attacks that targeted the Turkish military and its proxies in the northern countryside of Syria Aleppo, including the July 26 deadly attack on Kaljibrin base.
In a statement released on July 28, the Kurdish guerilla group alleged that its attacks, which took place between July 24 and 26, had claimed the lives of 11 Turkish service members and three Syrian militants.
The group released a two videos documenting rocket attacks that targeted a Turkish base near the town of Jelbar on July 24, and another that targeted Kaljibrin base two days later. Turkey acknowledged that three of its soldiers were killed in the attack on Kaljibrin.
The ALF emerged in 2018 following Operation Olive Branch, which saw the Turkish military and its proxies occupying most of the Kurdish area of Afrin. The group is reportedly a proxy of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The shadowy group attacks were likely a response to recent Turkish drone strikes on northern Syria that claimed the lives of several commander and fighters of the SDF. The most recent drone strike, which took place on July 23, claimed the lives of two commanders and a fighter of the SDF’s all-female force, the Women’s Protection Units.
The Turkish military and its proxies have been preparing to launch a new military operation against the SDF since May. Ankara could use the ALF’s recent attacks as a pretext to justify any upcoming operation in Syria.
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