French footballer sad for Turkey's Afrin martyrs

Turkish football team Galatasaray’s Senegal-origin French player Bafetimbi Gomis offered condolences on Sunday for Turkey’s martyrs in the ongoing operation in Syria.

On his social media account, Gomis shared a picture that included names of 11 martyrs from Saturday's incident in Afrin.

“Life may be going on for us, but there is a fire at homes of 11 martyrs,” he wrote in Turkish on his official Instagram account.

He prayed for God's mercy on the Turkish martyrs, adding he was really sorry.

On Saturday, PYD/PKK terrorists launched an attack with rockets on Turkish soldiers, nine of whom were martyred while a Turkish helicopter, which was sent to respond to the attack crashed, resulting in the martyrdom of two pilots.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to clear PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin, northwestern Syria.

According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkey’s borders and the region as well as to protect Syrians from terrorist oppression and cruelty.

The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey's rights based on international law, UN Security Council resolutions, its self-defense rights under the UN charter, and respect for Syria's territorial integrity, it said.

The military also said only terror targets are being destroyed and the "utmost care" is being taken to avoid harming civilians.