© AFP
The fatalities were caused after warplanes bombed the majority Kurdish village of Thulthana in the northern province of Aleppo around midnight Tuesday, the official SANA news agency reported.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 19 civilians were killed, including three children, in the deadly attack.
Comment: One must always be careful when the media uses the Syrian Observatory's information:
What Western media editors conceal from the public however, is that the "Syrian Observatory for Human Rights" is neither based in Syria nor is it an observer of what actually goes on there. It is essentially one man - Abdul Rahman, aka Rami Abdulrahman, aka Osama Suleiman - a three-term convicted criminal in Syria, based out of a small house in Coventry, England, and his 'team of four activists in Syria'.See: Propaganda spin cycle: 'Syrian Observatory for Human Rights' is funded by US and UK governments
Some media outlets said Turkey's military, which is part of the coalition, had conducted airstrikes in the Syrian village, which is currently being held by Daesh.
In a statement on Wednesday, the general staff of the Turkish armed forces denied that civilians had been killed. "The operation in the region is carried out extremely carefully, and airstrikes are carried out only after the selected targets have been confirmed several times."
The United States has been leading an aerial bombardment campaign targeting alleged Daesh positions in Syria since 2014.
In early September, Turkish troops entered the Syrian territory in a sudden incursion, which resulted in the fall of Jarablus after Daesh left the city without resistance.
Turkey has sent troops deeper into the Syrian territory to establish what it calls a safe zone.
Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), a US-backed militant group in Syria, and its allied Democratic Union Party (PYD) have frequently condemned bombings by Turkey in mainly Kurdish areas, saying Turkish forces "are targeting innocent civilians under the pretext of combating terrorism."
Ankara views the YPG and PYD as terrorists linked with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been fighting for autonomy in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated regions for decades.
Comment: That the source is SOHR immediately renders the casualty list suspect.
That they're targeting a majority Kurdish village suggests this the primary reason for the airstrike. Is it really ISIS the Turkish military targeted, or Kurdish fighters hoping to link up with their cousins across the Euphrates?
Did the Turks do this as part of Russia's efforts to clear Aleppo of terrorists?
Or did it do so as part of the US' efforts to provide air cover for its 'moderates'?
With the US and Russia now clearly foes in Syria, Turkey must decide whose side it is on...