Islamic State, Turkey-backed rebels launch simultaneous attacks on Kurdish positions

Aleppo – Several Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) headquarters in Aleppo Governorate were exposed on Wednesday to simultaneous attacks by Islamic State (ISIS) militants and Turkey-backed rebels.

Military sources told ARA News that ISIS jihadists bombed SDF positions in the northern countryside of Aleppo with mortar batteries. This attack coincided with a heavy artillery bombardment from rebel groups participating in the Euphrates Shield Operation.

The protracted barrage targeted SDF positions in the towns of Hasila, Harbal, Sheikh Issa and Meranaz. More than 20 SDF fighters were killed and dozens of others were wounded, according to an SDF officer who spoke to ARA News at the frontline.

“These simultaneous attacks on our headquarters by ISIS and Euphrates Shield were definitely coordinated,” SDF officer Habun Osman told ARA News. “Obviously, there is high-level cooperation and coordination between ISIS terrorists and Turkey’s mercenaries to hit the SDF.”

Rezan Hiddo, a rights activists and member of the Syrian Democratic Council, told ARA News that Islamist factions have handed over several villages in Aleppo’s countryside to ISIS.

The Syrian Democratic Council is a unicameral parliament. Its membership is constituted from parties who have agreed to support the pro-Kurdish SDF and work towards a secular, democratic and federalist Syria.

“The Turkey-backed rebels […] have delivered the villages of Taltana, Deir Hawa, Alba, Beraan, Homad and Baruza to the Islamic State,” Hiddo told ARA News. “This [is the] result of an undeclared agreement between the two groups to fight side by side against the Kurds and allied SDF.”

Source: http://aranews.net/2016/11/isis-turkey-backed-rebels-launch-simultaneous-attacks-kurdish-positions-aleppo/