On 13 February 2016, Turkey began heavy artillery bombing of Kurds in North Aleppo and at Azaz as they advanced against opposition groups.[52] The US urged Turkey to stop the shelling of the Kurds and focus on fighting the group Islamic State (IS),[53] however, Turkey defied the US and French calls and continued the shelling the next day too.[54] Also, in a telephone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey will continue to strike back at Kurdish fighters in Syria.[54] Kurdish officials said that at least three YPG fighters have died since the shelling started on Saturday.[55]