SDF shelling targets villages in northern Syria

ISTANBUL

The terror group YPG/SDF fired mortar and rocket rounds at residential areas in rural Jarabulus in northern Syria on Sunday, hitting two villages, Syrian media and rescue teams said.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that a mortar shell fired from areas under SDF control in Ayan al-Arab (Kobani) struck the entrance of al-Jamal village in the Jarabulus countryside.

The Syrian Civil Defense said an SDF-launched rocket also hit a house in the village of al-Hawi, west of the Euphrates River in the Aleppo countryside.

No injuries were reported.

The attacks came one day after the Syrian government extended a ceasefire with the SDF by 15 days on Saturday.

The extension is intended to support a US operation to evacuate detainees from the ISIS (Daesh) terror group currently held in prisons run by the SDF and transfer them to Iraq, according to the Defense Ministry.

The announcement came hours after the Syrian government said a four-day truce with the SDF ended and that authorities were considering their next steps following the expiration of that agreement.

On Tuesday, the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it had launched a mission to transfer ISIS detainees from northeastern Syria to Iraq to ensure terrorists remain in secure detention facilities.

The mission began with US forces transporting 150 ISIS fighters from a detention facility in northeastern Hasakah province to a secure location in Iraq, with plans for up to 7,000 detainees to eventually be transferred to Iraqi-controlled facilities.