Turkish-backed rebels advance amid airstrikes, killing 35
Turkey-backed Syrian rebels seized a number of villages and towns from Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria on Sunday amid Turkish airstrikes and shelling that killed at least 35 people, mostly civilians, according to rebels and a monitoring group.
Turkey sent tanks across the border to help Syrian rebels drive the Islamic State group out of the frontier town of Jarablus last week in a dramatic escalation of its involvement in the Syrian civil war.
The operation, labeled Euphrates Shield, is also aimed at pushing back US-allied Kurdish forces. The fighting pits a NATO ally against a US-backed proxy that is the most effective ground forces battling IS in Syria.
Turkish officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
