Turkish forces are seen near Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, Syria January 23, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
On October 7, a Turkish service member was killed in an attack that targeted a position he was manning near the village of al-Twais in the Turkish-occupied part of the northern Syrian governorate of Aleppo.
According to Syrian opposition sources, the attack, whose exact nature remains unclear, was carried out by Kurdish forces which control a strip of land to the south of Turkish-occupied areas in northern Aleppo countryside. The Syrian Arab Army and the Russian Military Police maintain troops in the Kurdish-held pocket.
The slain service member was identified by the Ministry of National Defense of Turkey as Marine Corps Private Tayfun Özköse.
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) October 7, 2021
A few hours after the attack, warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out three airstrikes on the outskirts of al-Twais. The airstrikes didn’t result in any casualties or material losses.
قصف جوي لـ #الاحتلال الروسي على قرية “التويس” في منطقة #مارع بريف #حلب.#سوريا #روسيا pic.twitter.com/sSBprJlsl3
— الائتلاف الوطني السوري (@SyrianCoalition) October 7, 2021
The situation in the northern countryside of Aleppo has been unstable for the last few months. A Russian-Turkish de-escalation agreement that was reached after the Turkish invasion of Afrin in 2018 is being violation by both Turkish and Kurdish forces on a regular basis.
Last month, a Turkish officer was killed and four service members were wounded in the northern Aleppo countryside in a tunnel bomb attack carried out by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
The Russian airstrikes on al-Twais may have been a warning to Turkish-backed militants who have been provoking Kurdish forces with their repeated attacks and continues shelling.
