Civilians wounded in Syrian missile strike: Turkish ministry

Ankara, March 15 (AFP/APP): A missile strike in Turkish-controlled northern Syria wounded several civilians, Turkey’s defence ministry and a monitoring group said Monday.

Officials said the ballistic missiles were fired from the Kuweires air base in Aleppo — under the control of the Syrian government — and struck Al-Bab and Jarablus towns in the north of the war-torn country.

The strike “targeted civilian settlements and fuel tankers… civilians were wounded,” the ministry said in a tweet, accompanied by video appearing to show several lorries on fire.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said its sources on the ground heard loud explosions near Jarablus “caused by rocket attacks of unknown origin.” Several civilians and workers had been wounded, it added. In March, missile strikes on oil refineries in the same area left four dead and 24 wounded.

The facilities have been the subject of repeated attacks in recent months, although neither Damascus nor ally Moscow — which has troops in Syria — have claimed the strikes. Ankara had contacted Russian troops to demand a halt to the firing, the defence ministry said Monday, adding its troops in the region had been “alerted.”

Turkey launched the “Euphrates Shield” operation in 2016, taking control of a swathe of territory in northern Syria. The operation allowed Syrian rebels supported by Turkey to control several towns — including Jarablus and Al-Bab.

Syria’s war has killed more than 387,000 people and displaced millions since starting in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

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