Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) troops thwarted an attack by People's Protection Units (YPG) terrorists, according to security sources Monday.

The SNA soldiers defused a car bomb in Syria's northern town of Tal Abyad, which was recently cleared of terrorists in Turkey's Operation Peace Spring, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to security concerns.

Search and sweep activities are ongoing in the region.

Tal Abyad is populated to a great extent by Arabs and was occupied by the terrorist group Daesh in 2014. A year later, the PKK terror group's Syrian offshoot the YPG occupied the city with the support of the U.S.

Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring, the third in a series of cross-border anti-terror operations in northern Syria targeting terrorists affiliated with Daesh and the YPG, on Oct. 9.

The operation, conducted in line with the country's right to self-defense borne out of international law and U.N. Security Council resolutions, aims to establish a terror-free safe zone for Syrians' return to the area east of the Euphrates river controlled by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is dominated by YPG terrorists.

Tal Abyad was cleared of terrorists as part of Operation Peace Spring on Oct. 13.

The PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU – has waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years, resulting in the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.