Fifteen civilians were wounded in Azaz in northern Aleppo, Syria in howitzer attacks by the PKK terrorist organization's Syrian affiliate Democratic Union Party's (PYD) People's Protection Units (YPG) militia. Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Heysem Ceber, the civil defense official in Azaz, which is under the control of opposition forces, said the YPG gunfire wounded 15 civilians, including the head of the civil defense department of Turkey's Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH).

Ceber further said that most of the wounded were hospitalized in Azaz while four people, three of whom are children, were transferred to Turkey for treatment. The wounded are at Kilis State Hospital where it is being reported that they are in critical condition.

The YPG often attack Azaz from Afrin and Tal Rifaat.

Listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the EU, the PKK resumed its armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015, unilaterally violating the cease-fire.

Recognized by the U.S. as an ally in the fight against the Daesh terrorist group, YPG militants make up the bulk of the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) in the war-torn country.

According to security officials in Turkey and Syria, the formation of the SDF more than a year ago has also provided the U.S. with an opportunity to deepen its relationship with the PYD and YPG. The SDF was formed in October 2015 when the YPG incorporated several fighting groups.