Kurds say 18 dead in clashes with Syria regime forces

Syrian Kurdish forces said they clashed with regime fighters in the divided northeastern city of Qamishli on Saturday, leading to the deaths of 18 combatants.

The rare flare-up in the Kurdish-majority city near the Turkish border saw 11 regime fighters and seven Kurds killed, the Kurdish security forces said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, reported the same death toll.