Nine people killed in Kurdish shelling on al-Bab town

At least nine people were killed on Wednesday afternoon by shelling of the US-backed Kurdish fighters in the northern town of al-Bab, according to opposition activists.

Zaman al-Wasl reporter said nine died and 31 were wounded in the town that controlled by Turkey-backed opposition forces.

Shelling and explosions in areas held by Turkey-backed Syrian opposition fighters over the past month have killed scores.

The YPG -- which forms the backbone of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting IS in Syria -- is viewed by Ankara as the PKK's Syria offshoot.

Washington relied heavily on the SDF to defeat IS jihadists who overran large swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014.

Scenes show #WhiteHelmets teams' response to the massacre that was today by missile strikes fired from SDF and regime-controlled areas on the popular market of #Albab city, east of #Aleppo where 9 civilians were killed and 31 others injured, including some in critical condition. pic.twitter.com/0dmrfnb5iz
— The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) February 2, 2022

Since the start of its military intervention in Syria in 2016, Ankara has sporadically bombed the YPG and carried out military operations on the ground targeting IS and Kurdish forces. (With Agencies)