Beirut - (AFP) - The Syrian Democratic Forces announced Thursday that eight of its fighters were killed in a Turkish bombardment that targeted Wednesday night the protection sites of Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria, where tens of thousands of displaced people and members of the families of the Islamic State reside.

The US-backed forces led by Kurdish fighters said in a statement that the Turkish raids led to "the martyrdom of eight of our fighters who carry out the tasks of protecting the camp" located in the farthest province of Hasakah.

On Wednesday night, Turkish warplanes targeted sites belonging to the camp's protection elements with five strikes, according to a Kurdish spokesman, which sparked panic inside the camp, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

On Wednesday, the Syrian Democratic Forces warned of an attempt to escape some families in the camp, which houses more than 50,000 people, about half of whom are Iraqis, including 11,000 foreigners from about 60 countries who are staying in their own section.

On Sunday, Turkey launched, within the framework of what it calls Operation "Claw Sword", a series of air strikes and continuous artillery bombardment against the positions of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq and the Kurdish People's Protection Units in northeastern Syria.

Ankara holds the two parties, despite their denials, responsible for the November 13 explosion in Istanbul, which killed six people and wounded 81.

On Thursday, according to the Observatory, Turkey launched artillery shelling on several areas in Al-Hasakah Governorate (northeast) and Aleppo Governorate (north), targeting a point of the regime forces east of the city of Kobani (Ayn Al-Arab), without recording any casualties.

The Observatory's director, Rami Abdel Rahman, reported "relative calm" on Thursday, with an almost cessation of Turkish air strikes, after Wednesday's escalation with Ankara's concentrated targeting of infrastructure, oil and gas facilities, and military targets.

The Turkish bombardment, according to the Observatory, since dawn on Sunday, has killed 35 Kurdish forces and 23 members of the Syrian regime forces. A Kurdish journalist was also killed.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday, "We will continue our air operations non-stop and will enter the territory of the terrorists when we see fit."

He specified his main objectives, speaking of the areas of "Tal Rifaat, Manbij and Ayn al-Arab" (Kobani in Kurdish), with the aim of securing Turkey's southern borders by establishing a safe area 30 km deep.