Turkey-backed Syrian opposition fighters going to Tal Abyad from Turkish gate towards Syria in Akcakale in Sanliurfa province. (File photo: AFP)
Three Turkish soldiers were killed in a car bomb attack while carrying out roadside checks on vehicles in northeast Syria on Thursday, security sources said.
The sources said the attack was at the town of Suluk, 10 kilometer (6.2 miles) southeast of the Syrian town of Tel Abyad, bordering Turkey.
Both towns are in an area that Turkey and allied Turkish-backed opposition forces took control of in a cross-border operation launched last October against the Kurdish YPG militia.
Ankara views the YPG, the main component of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that helped the United States defeat ISIS, as a terrorist group with links to Kurdish militants on Turkish soil.
Turkey’s offensive was widely condemned by Ankara’s Western allies, who said the assault could hinder the fight against ISIS in Syria.
State-owned Anadolu news agency cited the Turkish Defense Ministry as saying three soldiers were killed in the car bomb attack.
