Turkey strikes targets of Kurdish groups in Syria and Iraq after Istanbul bombings
ISTANBUL — Turkey launched deadly airstrikes in northern regions of Syria and Iraq, targeting Kurdish groups, the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Sunday.
The warplanes struck targets belonging to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and the Syrian People’s Protection Units, or YPG, the ministry said in a statement, which included photos of F-16 jets and footage of the attack. aerial drone.
The ministry launched an operation called Claw-Sword on Saturday, citing Turkey’s right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Syrian Kurdish officials have alleged that the airstrikes resulted in civilian deaths.
Turkey carried out these airstrikes after a bomb blast in a crowded area of Istanbul on November 13, in which six people were killed and more than 80 were injured. Turkey blamed the PKK and its Syrian ally the YPG for the attack. However, Kurdish militant groups have categorically denied their involvement in the attack.
Following the attacks, the Defense Ministry posted a photo of an F-16 fighter jet with the caption, “Payback time! The scoundrels are being held accountable for their treacherous attacks.”
The ministry claimed that a total of 89 targets were destroyed and a “large number” of “terrorists” were killed in the strikes, which ranged from Tall Rifat in northwest Syria to Qandil mountains in northeast Iraq.
The airstrikes targeted Kobani, a strategic Kurdish-majority Syrian town near to the Turkish border that Ankara had previously tried to take in its plan to create a “safe zone” along northern Syria.
Syrian Democratic Forces spokesman Farhad Shami said in a tweet that Turkish bombing killed 11 civilians and destroyed a hospital, a power plant and granaries in two villages with large populations of displaced people.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, reported that the attacks has also affected the position of the Syrian army. About 25 airstrikes were carried out by Turkey in the rural areas of Aleppo, Raqqa and Hasakah. at least 12 people killed including SDF and Syrian soldiers
In neighboring Iraq, Kurdistan Regional Government officials said at least 32 PKK militants were killed in the attacks.
SDF Commander Mazloom Abdi called on people to stay at home and follow instructions. If war breaks out, “we will do everything possible to avoid a major catastrophe.”
The SDF later said in a statement that the attacks “will not remain one-sided. At the appropriate time and place, we will respond in a strong and effective manner.”
The air strike was ordered by President Erdogan on Thursday while returning from a G-20 meeting of world leaders in Indonesia.
Source: Associated Press
