However, an opposition group that monitors the war in Syria said the first shots were fired by Turkish troops and Turkey-backed opposition fighters. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Turkish shelling prompted a retaliatory attack from Syrian Kurdish fighters. ADTurkish troops and Turkey-backed opposition fighters seized areas in northeastern Syria in a military offensive launched nearly two months ago. On Nov. 2, a car bomb killed 13 people in Tal Abyad, and explosions have hit other towns in Turkish-held areas. Ankara views the Kurdish fighters as terrorists for their links to a Kurdish insurgency inside Turkey.

Source: Washington Post November 28, 2019 07:52 UTC