Turkey says 3 killed in rocket strikes by Kurdish group in Syria

Gaziantep province governor Davut Gul said that more detailed information will be shared later.

 A view shows the aftermath of airstrikes, which Turkey's defence ministry says it carried out, in Derik, Syria, November 20, 2022. (photo credit: North Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS)
A view shows the aftermath of airstrikes, which Turkey's defence ministry says it carried out, in Derik, Syria, November 20, 2022.
(photo credit: North Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS)

Three people were killed by five rockets launched into Turkey from northern Syria allegedly by the Kurdish YPG militia on Monday, according to Turkish authorities.

The rockets hit a school, two houses and a truck in the Karkamis district, near a border gate in Gaziantep province, the governor Davut Gul said, adding six had been wounded. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu later said three had died.

Broadcaster CNN Turk said the rockets were fired from the Kobani area of Syria, controlled by the YPG.

Gul said that more detailed information will be shared later.

What happened earlier

The rocket barrage followed a cross-border military operation over the weekend. Turkish warplanes carried out air strikes on Kurdish militant bases in northern Syria and Iraq, destroying 89 targets.

Turkish soldiers patrol along a wall on the border line between Turkey and Syria, in the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar, in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, October 29, 2019 (credit: REUTERS/KEMAL ASLAN)
Turkish soldiers patrol along a wall on the border line between Turkey and Syria, in the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar, in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, October 29, 2019 (credit: REUTERS/KEMAL ASLAN)

The defense ministry said the operation was in retaliation for a bomb attack in Istanbul that killed six people a week ago, which authorities have blamed on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

As part of the weekend operations, Ankara said that 8 security personnel had been wounded in rocket attacks by the YPG from Syria's Tal Rifat on a police post near a border gate in Turkey's Kilis province.