Kurd attacks begin

Turkish forces bomb targets a day after US exit announcement

TURKISH warplanes have reportedly begun bombing Kurdish positions in Syria, a day after the US announced it was pulling its troops out in a move slammed as a “stab in the back”.

The bombings started late on Monday, with Turkish air force jets targeting the Semelka Border Crossing at the Iraq border in northeast Syria, local media reported.

There were also reports of artillery bombardment targeting the border area between Turkey, Syria and Iraq, with the Turkish Foreign Minister describing the actions as a “temporary measure”.

“They abandoned us in the middle of struggle against ISIS,” General Mazloum Ebdi, commander of the majority Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, told a US TV network.

General Ebdi said the Turkish offensive could lead to ethnic cleansing. He said the decision to pull out “hurt the credibility” of the US, adding, it would not be easy to recover.

US President Donald Trump’s surprise move – described by the SDF as a “stab in the back” – goes against the advice of senior officials in the Pentagon and state department.

Democrats and Republicans warn that a Turkish attack could lead to a massacre of the Kurds, who are holding thousands of captured IS fighters and their families.

Senator Mitch McConnell, one of Mr Trump’s staunchest allies, urged the President to reverse the move.

“A precipitous withdrawal of US forces from Syria would only benefit Russia, Iran and the Assad regime,” he said.

Mr Trump later warned Turkey against going too far.

“As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!). They must, with Europe and others, watch over the captured ISIS fighters and families,” he tweeted.