Turkish forces are seen at Mount Barsaya in northeast of Afrin, January 28, 2018 / Khalil Ashawi / Reuters
On July 7, cross-border firing by unidentified gunmen in Syria’s northeastern region, where Kurdish forces are in control, killed a Turkish service member.
The gunfire targeted a Turkish military vehicle patrolling near the border town of Senyurt in the southeastern Turkish province of Mardin.
According to a statement by Mardin’s governor office, the driver, identified as infantryman Cihan Ciftcibasi, was severely wounded and three other service members sustained light injures when the vehicle then overturned. Ciftcibasi died of his wounds in the hospital, while the remaining three soldiers are recovering.
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) July 7, 2021
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, yet. Elements from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) may have been behind the attack.
The SDF launched cross-border attacks against Turkey from northeastern Syria in 2019 as a response to the Turkish-led invasion of the region. Since then, the Kurdish-led group has confined its attacks to Turkish forces inside Syria.
The Turkish military has not yet responded to the cross-border attack. A harsh military response by Ankara may further destabilize northeastern Syria. The ceasefire in the region, which is sponsored by both Russia and the US, is barely holding on.
