Turkey said on Sunday its military killed 15 Syrian Kurdish YPG members, who it said were preparing to carry out an attack in a region of northeast Syria controlled by Turkey and its Syrian opposition allies.
In an offensive last year dubbed the Peace Spring Operation, Turkey seized a 120-km stretch of border territory in northeast Syria from the YPG, which it considers a terrorist organization linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
"Our heroic commandos dealt another heavy blow to the PKK/YPG terrorist organization. Fifteen PKK/YPG terrorists trying to infiltrate the Peace Spring region from the south to carry out an attack were neutralized with the successful intervention of our commandos," Turkey's Defense Ministry said on Twitter.
Turkey halted its offensive, which was widely condemned by Ankara's Western allies as the YPG was a key US ally in the fight against ISIS, after striking deals with Russia and the United States.
Moscow has said the YPG withdrew to at least 30 km from Turkey's border, but Ankara has been skeptical and held out the possibility of new attacks if militants remain.
