Turkey continues to shell PYD positions in Syria

Turkish Armed Forces have continued to shell PYD/ PKK positions for the third consecutive day in Syria’s northern part on Monday, security sources said.

According to Turkish security sources, artillery shelling has periodically hit Azaz, in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

The shelling began Saturday night. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that the army returned artillery fire after having come under attack from PYD forces based around Azaz in northern Syria. Davutoglu had said that the response was done within Turkey’s rules of engagement.

According to the Turkish military, the Akcabaglar base in Turkey’s border province of Kilis was shelled Saturday by PYD/PKK forces. A Turkish border post was hit by mortar fire from Syria on Sunday, Turkey’s defense minister Ismet Yilmaz said.

“When a strike hits our border, within the rules of engagement it will be responded to in a dissuasive way,” he added Sunday.

The PYD is the Syrian branch of the terrorist PKK organization, which resumed its 30-year armed campaign last July.

The YPG, the PYD's armed wing, has advanced to Azaz, locates in the Aleppo province whichhas been the scene of recent heavy fighting, just six kilometers (four miles) from the Turkish border.