Turkey, Syria exchange first intense fire since Turkish assault in northern Syria

The Syrian and Turkish army on Tuesday exchanged their first intense fire since Turkey launched a military assault in northern Syria on Oct. 9, a war monitor reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Turkish army and allied Syrian rebels started the offensive in the south of Ras al-Ayn city in the countryside of the northeastern province of Hasakah.

The attack is being carried out under the cover of Turkish drones and choppers, woulding six Syrian soldiers, the London-based watchdog added.

Over the past couple of days, the Syrian army sent thousands of soldiers to where the Kurdish forces have been pulling out on the Syrian-Turkish border to counter the Turkish offensive.

On Oct. 9, Turkey launched an operation to clear the Kurdish militia from northern Syria in the east of the Euphrates river to eliminate what Turkey perceives as a threat to its border security, impose a safe zone and resettle millions of Syrian refugees.

The United States reached a deal with Turkey on Oct. 17, imposing a five-day cease-fire to allow the Kurdish forces to pull back from the planned safe zone that Turkey wants to create in northern Syria.

On Oct. 22, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a meeting in Sochi, Russia, agreeing on the parameters of the proposed Turkish safe zone in northern Syria.

The deal stipulates that the Kurdish militia and its broader umbrella of the People's Protection Units will pull back 30 km south of Turkey's border within 150 hours.

Joint patrols by Turkish and Russian forces will cover the area, according to the deal.