Turkey bombs U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters near Aleppo, killing up to 200

Kurdish YPG forces were just bombed by Turkish warplanes
(Image credit: Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey said Thursday that its warplanes had hit 18 targets north of Aleppo, Syria, killing up to 200 Kurdish fighters in the Maarat Umm Hawsh region. The fighters, with the Syrian People's Protection Units (YPG), are considered by the U.S. to be the most effective ground force against the Islamic State, but Turkey — also a U.S. ally — links them to Kurdish separatist guerrillas inside Turkey. Turkey's state Anadolu agency said that Turkish airstrikes Wednesday night hit nine building used as YPG headquarters, plus weapons depots and four vehicles. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the attack but not the death toll. The area hit had recently been cleared of ISIS by the Syrian fighters.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.