Attack in Syria: 2 police officers lose their lives

* 'Euphrates Shield' zone. Photo: AA

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Special operations police officers Cihat Şahin (34) and Fatih Doğan (27) have lost their lives and two police officers have been wounded in an attack that targeted a convoy of Turkey's security forces in Syria. The attack reportedly took place in the Mare district of Syria's Azaz city.

While the Interior Ministry statement has alleged that the attack was launched by the People's Defense Units (YPG), the local sources have confirmed that the attack was carried out by a Russia-made anti-tank missile.

Notes about Azaz: In northwestern Syria, it is 32 kilometers to Aleppo. According to the Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), its population was 31,623 at the census in 2004. As of 2015, almost all of its residents are Sunni Muslims, mostly Arabs, in addition to Kurds and Turkmens. It is close to the Syria-Turkey bordergate in Öncüpınar in southern Kilis. It is the capital city of the Syrian Interim Government.

The deceased bodies of Doğan and Şahin will be laid to rest in their hometowns in Adıyaman and Elazıp following a ceremony in Antep.

Turkey launched the Operation Euphrates Shield in northern Syria on August 24, 2016. The operation lasted 216 days and ended on March 29, 2017. The other two operations that Turkey was launched since 2016 across its border in northern Syria are Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019). (PT/SD)