One civilian killed by PKK/PYD rocket attack in Syria

AZAZ, Syria

One civilian was killed and six others wounded on Wednesday when a rocket fired by the PKK/PYD hit the opposition-held Azaz town of Aleppo province, Syria, according to the Syrian Civil Defense group.

“The PYD/PKK targeted the residential area in Azaz with long-range rockets. Six injured civilians were taken to field hospitals for treatment,” Hassan Ibrahim from the Syrian Civil Defense group told Anadolu Agency.

Popularly known as the White Helmets, the Syrian Civil Defense group is active in opposition-held areas of the country, which has been locked in a devastating civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.

The PYD is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK which is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.

It has waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years, during which more than 40,000 people have been killed. The PKK is also involved in illicit drug production, manufacture and trafficking.

*Reporting by Adham Kako; Writing by Ahmet Sait Akcay