Kurdish forces say 8 fighters killed in Turkish camp strike

BEIRUT: Kurdish forces in northern Syria announced on Thursday the deaths of eight fighters following Turkish airstrikes that targeted their positions at Al-Hol camp, which houses families of jihadists.

The Turkish strikes “left dead eight of our fighters responsible for protection of the camp,” the US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said in a statement. Al-Hol, home to more than 50,000 people, is the largest camp for displaced people who fled after the SDF led the battle that dislodged Islamic State group fighters from the last scraps of their Syrian territory in 2019.

The SDF, the Kurds´ de-facto army in northeastern Syria, warned Wednesday that relatives of jihadists might try to flee the camp. Among Al-Hol´s detainees are more than 10,000 foreigners from dozens of countries. The overcrowded camp is also home to displaced Syrians, and Iraqi refugees.