Turkey suffers greatest troop losses in Syria
Since the start of the Turkish army’s “Olive Branch” operation against the Kurds in Syria, 30 Turkish soldiers have been killed and more than 70 have been wounded.
On February the 10th, two Turkish soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash in Turkey’s Hatay province on the Turkey-Syria border, and a total of 11 soldiers were killed in that 24-hour period. This was reported by the news outlet Anadolu, citing the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces. Photos have been published of six of the eleven soldiers who were killed.
“Another four of our military comrades have died in operation ‘Olive Branch’ in Afrin, and another two soldiers have been wounded,” the report states.
Turkey has also lost its first aircraft, a T129 ATAK helicopter, along with its entire crew.
The Turkish Armed Forces claim to have killed 1,141 terrorists in Afrin.
On January 20, the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces announced the start of Operation Olive Branch against the People’s Protection Units (YPG, part of the Syrian Democratic Forces) and against the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Afrin, where roughly 1.5 million Kurds and refugees from other Syrian provinces are living.
As reported previously, a Kurdish Women’s Protection unit attacked the Turkish military’s position in Syria, and succeeded in destroying a Leopard 2A4 tank.