Illustrative image. Source: https://t.me/fri_syrian_army_8
On January 13, a member of the so-called Free Military Police was killed and three civilians were wounded in the Turkish-occupied northern Syrian town of Azaz as a result of an attack with an improvised explosive device (IED).
The attack targeted a vehicle of the Free Military Police, a local law enforcement body backed by Turkey. The vehicle belongs to the head of the police Discipline Department, Mohamad Abboud, who was not aboard it at the time of the attack.
انفجرت عبوة ناسفة بسيارة بالقرب من مديرية المواصلات في مدينة اعزاز بريف حلب الشمالي و وأنباء عن إصابة عدد من الأشخاص بجروح pic.twitter.com/j8wUbium25
— Âla hacıoğlu 🌸🇹🇷 (@ala_hacioglu) January 13, 2022
The slain policeman was identified by Syrian opposition activists as Mohamad al-Hussein, who was likely a personal guard of Abboud.
Minutes after the attack, Turkish-backed policemen in Azaz dismantled a second IED that was also planted under a vehicle.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. Kurdish forces and ISIS remains the two main suspects as both of them carried out similar attacks in Turkish-occupied areas in northern and northeastern Syria in the past.
The security situation in Turkish-occupied Syrian areas remains fragile. Ankara has been doing nothing to secure and stabilize these areas.