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Kurds, aided by Russian planes, hit insurgent-held base in Syria

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Kurdish fighters helped by Russian air strikes launched an attack in northern Syria on Wednesday in an attempt to capture a military air base held by Syrian insurgents, while an international aid group warned that the health system in parts of the north is close to collapse.

    by By Bassem Mroue, Associated Press, Inquirer
    Published 

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Kurdish fighters helped by Russian air strikes launched an attack in northern Syria on Wednesday in an attempt to capture a military air base held by Syrian insurgents, while an international aid group warned that the health system in parts of the north is close to collapse.

Syria's Kurds have been among the most effective forces battling the Islamic State, but have remained largely neutral in the conflict between President Bashar al-Assad and the rebels fighting to overthrow him.

But with Syrian troops backed by Russian warplanes waging a major offensive between the northern city of Aleppo and the Turkish border, the Kurds appeared to be exploiting the chaos to expand their nearby enclave, known as Afrin.

Maj. Yasser Abdul-Rahim, a rebel commander in Aleppo province, said that fighters from the Kurdish People's Protection Units, known as the YPG, were clashing with rebels near Mannagh air base. He accused the YPG of trying to take Arab villages near Afrin.

"We are fighting on three fronts," he said via Skype, referring to the YPG, Syrian troops and the Islamic State, which also controls parts of Aleppo province.

He warned that Mannagh air base could fall to Kurdish fighters because of the Russian air cover and the intensity of the attack.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said YPG fighters are trying to capture the former Syrian air base, which fell to the opposition in August 2013.

Ahmad al-Ahmad, an opposition activist based in Aleppo province, said the fighting is concentrated outside the air base and that Russian warplanes are bombarding the area. He said that YPG fighters are also trying to push their way toward the nearby village of Kfar Naya. "The front in northern Aleppo is in flames," he said via Skype.

Doctors Without Borders meanwhile said military operations in Aleppo province have brought "the already devastated health system" close to collapse in the Azaz district, about six miles from the Turkish border.