Terror attack martyrs 2 Turkish soldiers in Azaz, Syria

GAZIANTEP, Turkey

A terrorist attack Friday in an area of Syria liberated by a previous cross-border operation martyred two Turkish soldiers and injured three.

The mortar attack targeted a military base in Azaz, near Aleppo, which was liberated by Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016-2017.

The bodies of the martyred soldiers were flown across the border to Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey, where a memorial service was held with the governors of Gaziantep and Kilis in attendance.

Operation Euphrates Shield and its successors, Operation Olive Branch in 2018 and Operation Peace Spring, launched just this Wednesday, have all aimed to eliminate terrorist elements from near Turkey’s borders, including the terrorist groups Daesh and the PYD/YPG.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The PYD/YPG is its Syrian offshoot.

*Writing by Dilara Hamit