SDF ambush in Ras Al-Ain | Death toll jumps to 27 Turkish-backed militiamen, and SDF hand over 21 bodies after Russian mediation

Al-Raqqah Province – Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: SOHR activists have documented a new spike in death toll among the Turkish-backed factions as a result of the ambush carried out by SDF in the early hours of Tuesday morning in Mu’alaqah village nearby Ain Issa in northern Al-Raqqah, as the total number of fatalities has reached 27 militiamen. The factions managed to recover six bodies, while 21 other bodies remained in SDF-held areas.

 

Meanwhile, SOHR activists say that Russian forces stationed in Ain Issa have mediated with SDF in order to hand over the rebels’ bodies to the Turkish-backed factions, as SDF held these bodies after being killed when they entered the landmine field set up by SDF in the village.

 

In this context, 21 bodies were handed over to Turkish forces this evening, under the supervision of Russian forces and SDF, near Mu’alaqah village. It is worth noting that the recovered bodies included the body of an ex-ISIS “Emir” (senior commander) who served previously in “Tal Abyad State” in northern Al-Raqqah.

 

SOHR sources reported earlier that Turkish forces renewed their artillery fire on positions in Ain Issa which is under the control of Syria Democratic Forces in northern Al-Raqqah, reacting the great number of fatalities among the Turkish-backed factions in the recent hours.

 

A few hours earlier SOHR activists documented further fatalities in the ambush carried out by SDF nearby Ain Issa in northern Al-Raqqah, bringing death toll of the Turkish-backed factions to 21 militiamen killed as a result of the explosion of landmines field set up by SDF in Mu’alaq village on the outskirts of Ain Issa. The death toll is expected to rise further as the ambush left ten militiamen injured, some seriously.

 

Observatory could disclose further details about the ambush carried out by Syria Democratic Forces in the early hours of Tuesday morning on the outskirts of Ain Issa in northern Al-Raqqah. According to SOHR sources, a group of at least 30 Turkish-backed militiamen sneaked into Mu’alaq village on the outskirts of Ain Issa, while SDF withdrew from their positions in the village after setting up an ambush using landmines. The landmines exploded just after the factions’ militiamen had entered the village, while SDF showered the area with rockets for hours.