ANKARA – With the latest three Turkish soldiers death in Syria the totalnumber of Turkish Military soldiers deaths in Syria operation reach 49.
Three soldiers were killed Thursday clearing improvised explosive devices(IEDs) in the Syrian region of Afrin after the capture of Afrin city at theweekend, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said.
“We have three martyrs today. They were martyred while clearing IEDs,”Yildirim said in a televised speech in Ankara.
Three more soldiers were injured after an IED exploded, the army said in astatement, confirming the death toll.
Turkish troops and allied Syrian forces seized control of Afrin city fromthe Kurdish People s Protection Units (YPG) militia on Sunday.
Ankara began its offensive in January against the YPG, which it says isallied with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) waging aninsurgency against Turkey since 1984.
The PKK is blacklisted as a terror organisation by Turkey and its Westernallies.
But the YPG has been working closely with the United States against theIslamic State extremist group in Syria, much to Turkey s chagrin.
Some 250,000 civilians fled the violence in Afrin and dozens of others werekilled, as well as around 1,500 Kurdish fighters, according to the UK-basedSyrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Prior to the latest deaths, 46 Turkish military personnel had been killedduring the operation dubbed “Olive Branch”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to extend the operation toother YPG-controlled areas in northern Syria including the towns of Manbijand Kobane. – APP /AFP