Turkey to Pull Out Hundreds of Soldiers from Syria to Fight PKK in Iraq

A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle during a joint US-Turkey patrol near Tel Abyad, Syria September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle during a joint US-Turkey patrol near Tel Abyad, Syria September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
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Turkey to Pull Out Hundreds of Soldiers from Syria to Fight PKK in Iraq

A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle during a joint US-Turkey patrol near Tel Abyad, Syria September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle during a joint US-Turkey patrol near Tel Abyad, Syria September 8, 2019. (Reuters)

Some 400 Turkish forces deployed in the de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria would likely redeploy in northern Iraq to fight the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), reliable sources told the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Sunday.

“Four hundred Turkish troops have packed up and finished their preparations to withdraw from the de-escalation zone as part of an initial batch that will exit the area,” the sources said.

There are more than 13,500 Turkish soldiers deployed in 60 military points across the de-escalation zone in Idlib and the countryside of Aleppo, Hama and Latakiya.

Last year, the Turkish army carried out ground and air raids against the PKK in northern Iraq.

Meanwhile, Syrian regime forces have targeted areas in Al-Fatirah, Safuhan, Fulayfil and Baynnin in Jabal Al-Zawiyah in the southern countryside of Idlib and they fired heavy artillery shells on Al-Ankawy and Al-Fatatra villages in Sahl Al-Ghab area.

Also in the past three days, the Turkish military and the Syrian National Army (SNA) factions, loyal to Ankara, escalated their attacks on the countryside of Tal Tamr in the north of Hasakah, an area controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The shelling damaged cables and caused electricity outages in the area.

The SNA factions carried out intense artillery shelling on the villages of Dardara, Tal Shanan and Tal Jumaa in the Tal Tamr countryside, with no reports of casualties.

The Observatory reported that a Turkish drone targeted a military vehicle in the vicinity of Hoshan village, west of Ain Issa, in the northern countryside of Raqqa, while Turkish forces bombed the village.



Israel Strikes Lebanon after Discussing 'Iranian Threat' with Trump

A ball of fire rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs on November 7, 2024. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)
A ball of fire rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs on November 7, 2024. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)
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Israel Strikes Lebanon after Discussing 'Iranian Threat' with Trump

A ball of fire rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs on November 7, 2024. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)
A ball of fire rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs on November 7, 2024. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)

Israel launched fresh strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs early Thursday, hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US president-elect Donald Trump spoke about the "Iranian threat".

The Israeli premier was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Trump, calling the re-election "history's greatest comeback".

Over the phone on Wednesday, the pair "agreed to work together for Israel's security" and "discussed the Iranian threat", Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

Not long afterwards, the Israeli military launched its latest strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah's main bastion of south Beirut, with AFP footage showing orange flashes and plumes of smoke over the densely populated suburb.

The Israeli army had issued evacuation orders ahead of the strikes, calling on people to leave four neighborhoods, including one near the international airport.

In Lebanon's east, the country's health ministry said Israeli strikes on Wednesday killed 40 people, with rescuers combing the rubble for survivors.

"The series of Israeli enemy strikes on the Bekaa Valley and Baalbek" killed "40 people and injured 53", the ministry said in a statement.