KARKAMIS: A group allied to Kurdish-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said it was bombarded by Turkish warplanes on Saturday, after Turkey's military launched an incursion this week into northern Syria against both Islamic State and Kurdish forces.
Turkish officials had no immediate comment on the report which, if confirmed, would signal Turkey's action against Kurdish-aligned forces in Syria was being ratcheted up a notch.
The Jarablus Military Council, a group that is part of the SDF, said jets hit positions near the strategic town of Jarablus. It reported civilian casualties and called the strike "a dangerous escalation".
A Reuters witness in Karkamis, a Turkish town on the other side of the border from Syria's Jarablus, saw warplanes flying from Turkish air space early on Saturday into Syria and then heard several blasts. The identity of the planes was not clear.
Syrian rebels backed by Turkish special forces, tanks and warplanes entered Jarablus this week, seizing the frontier town that had been an Islamic State stronghold. The rebel force backed by Turkey were largely Arab and Turkmen.
The Turkish campaign pre-empted action by Kurdish-backed forces which had sought to get to Jarablus first.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and other senior officials have made clear that the incursion is as much about pushing away Islamic State as it is about preventing Kurdish forces filling the void left as the Islamists withdraw.
Turkey wants to stop Kurdish forces gaining control of a continuous stretch of territory along its southern border, which Ankara fears they could use to support the Kurdish militant group PKK that is fighting an insurgency on Turkish soil.
Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have extended their control beyond Jarablus, seizing five nearby villages from Islamic State, Turkish security sources said. The Turkish Red Crescent has distributed food in Jarablus since Friday, the sources said.
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