BALADI NEWS
Intense clashes broke out Saturday between Syrian regime troops and Turkish-led forces in northeast Syria, killing at least four Assad soldiers, the country's state media and an opposition war monitor reported.
Turkey launched a military operation in northeast Syria last month to push out Syrian Kurdish fighters near the border.
The Kurdish groups called in Syrian regime forces to halt Turkey's advance. Syrian regime forces have since clashed with Turkish troops and Turkey-backed opposition fighters, despite a shaky truce brokered by Russia.
A cameraman for state-run Syrian TV was among those wounded in Saturday's clashes, according to both SANA and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory reported the deaths of four Syrian soldiers, and said a general and a paramedic were wounded. The Kurdish news agency Hawar said five government troops were killed and 26 wounded.
SANA said the clashes involved heavy machine gun fire and occurred in the village of Um Shaifa near the town of Ras al-Ain, which was captured by Turkish-led forces last month. It later reported that government forces took the village from Turkey-backed opposition fighters.
The Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian group active in northeast Syria, said four Syrian army soldiers were killed and seven were wounded, including a general. It said they were killed and wounded north of the town of Tal Tamr, adding that the rangers and the Kurdish Red Crescent had evacuated some of the Syrian troops.
The Observatory said the attacks involved Turkish drones.
Turkey's Defense Ministry made no mention of fighting with Syrian regime troops in a statement Saturday.
The ministry did say it recorded eight cease-fire violations or attacks carried out by Syrian Kurdish fighters in the last 24 hours, despite separate truce agreements that Turkey has reached with Russia and the United States.
Last week, Turkish forces captured 18 Syrian government soldiers in the area and set them free hours later following mediation by Russia.
Source: Daily Mail.