Turkey-backed forces clash with Kurdish-led fighters in Syria

The press office for the Kurdish-held parts of Syria said eight civilians were killed in shelling by Turkish-backed forces in the countryside between Manbij, a town controlled by Kurdish-affiliated forces, and the Islamic State-held town of al-Bab.

Quoting unnamed military officials, it said the raids destroyed two buildings, an ammunition depot and four defensive positions around al-Bab.

In Cairo, meanwhile, Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi expressed support for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s military, in remarks that are likely to anger Saudi Arabia and other gulf countries, which back Syria’s armed rebellion.

There are too many indications that hospitals and medical facilities are deliberately being bombed,” she said in a speech to the German parliament, adding that it “has to be pursued under criminal law.