Turkey says it is not targeting Syrian Kurds after villages hit

The Turkish military are not targeting Syrian Kurds after Kurdish forces and a monitoring group said tanks shelled Kurdish-held villages in northern Syria, a Turkish government official said on July 27.

"The ongoing military operation seeks to neutralise imminent threats to Turkey's national security and continues to target ISIS in Syria and the PKK in Iraq," the official told AFP, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party.
 
He said the Syrian Kurdish "PYD, along with others, remains outside the scope of the current military effort." 

The Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said: "We are investigating claims that the Turkish military engaged positions held by forces other than ISIS [ISIL]."  

Kurdish forces and a monitoring group claimed Turkish tanks shelled a Kurdish-held village in northern Syria overnight on July 27.

In a statement, the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) said Turkish tanks hit its own positions and those of allied Arab rebels in the village of Zur Maghar in Aleppo province.

The "heavy tank fire" wounded four members of the allied rebel force and several villagers, the YPG said.

It said there was a second, later round of shelling against Zur Maghar and another village in the same area.

"Instead of targeting IS [ISIL] terrorist occupied positions, Turkish forces attack our defenders' positions," the statement said.

"We urge Turkish leadership to halt this aggression and to follow international guidelines. We are telling the Turkish army to stop shooting at our fighters and their positions."     

The Turkish fire was also reported by activists and the Syrian Observatory...